11BRARY 

UnivawiJy  of  CaWomi*" 

IRVINE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

IRVINE 

GIFT  OF 
MR.    CHARLES   KILMER 


THE    CONQUEROR 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 

SENATOR  NORTH 

THE  ARISTOCRATS 

PA  TIENCE  SPARHA  WK  AND  HER    TIMES 

THE  DOOMSWOMAN 

A  DAUGHTER    OF   THE    VINE 

THE    CALIFORNIANS 

AMERICAN   WIVES  AND  ENGLISH  HUSBANDS 

HIS  FORTUNATE    GRACE 

In  Preparation 

A    VOLUME    OF  HAMILTON'S  LETTERS 
(With  Portraits) 


THE    CONQUEROR 


BEING   THE   TRUE   AND    ROMANTIC 
STORY   OF 

ALEXANDER    HAMILTON 


BY 

GERTRUDE   FRANKLIN   ATHERTON 


"  Je  considere  Napoleon,  Fox,  et  Hamilton  comme  les  trois  plus 
grands  hommes  de  notre  epoque,  et  si  je  devais  me  prononcer 
entre  les  trois,  je  donnerais  sans  hesiter  la  premiere  place  a  Ham 
ilton.  II  avait  devine  1'Europe." 

TALLEYRAND,  £tudes  sur  la  Ripublique 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 

1904 
All  rights  rtstrvtd 


COPYRIGHT,  1902, 
BY   THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY. 


Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  published  March,  1902.  Reprinted 
May,  July  twice,  August,  September,  October,  December,  1902; 
February,  1903;  February,  November,  1904. 

Special  edition  June,  1904. 


Nortooofi 

J.  8.  Cashing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO  THE  DISTINGUISHED  MEN  WITHOUT  WHOSE  SUGGESTION 
AND  ENCOURAGEMENT  THIS  ATTEMPT  TO  RECREATE  THE 
GREATEST  OF  OUR  STATESMEN  WOULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  MADE 

THE  RT.  HON.  JAMES   BRYCE,  M.P. 
DR.  ALLAN  McLANE  HAMILTON 


CONTENTS 

FAGB 

NEVIS xi 

BOOK   I 
RACHAEL  LEVINE i 

BOOK  II 
ALEXANDER   HAMILTON.     His   YOUTH   IN  THE  WEST   INDIES 

AND   IN   THE   COLONIES   OF   NORTH   AMERICA         .  .  -53 

BOOK   III 
THE  LITTLE  LION 157 

BOOK   IV 
"  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  " 243 


•    463 


Tii 


EXPLANATION 

IT  was  my  original  intention  to  write  a  biography  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  in  a  more  flexible  manner  than  is 
customary  with  that  method  of  reintroducing  the  dead 
to  the  living,  but  without  impinging  upon  the  territory  of 
fiction.  But  after  a  visit  to  the  British  and  Danish  West 
Indies  in  search  of  the  truth  regarding  his  birth  and 
ancestry,  and  after  a  wider  acquaintance  with  the  gener 
ally  romantic  character  of  his  life,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
personality  of  this  most  endearing  and  extraordinary  of 
all  our  public  men,  the  instinct  of  the  novelist  proved  too 
strong ;  I  no  sooner  had  pen  in  hand  than  I  found  myself 
working  in  the  familiar  medium,  although  preserving  the 
historical  sequence.  But,  after  all,  what  is  a  character 
novel  but  a  dramatized  biography  ?  We  strive  to  make 
our  creations  as  real  to  the  world  as  they  are  to  us.  Why, 
then,  not  throw  the  graces  of  fiction  over  the  sharp  hard 
facts  that  historians  have  laboriously  gathered  ?  At  all 
events,  this  infinitely  various  story  of  Hamilton  appealed 
too  strongly  to  my  imagination  to  be  frowned  aside,  so 
here,  for  better  or  worse,  is  the  result.  Nevertheless,  and 
although  the  method  may  cause  the  book  to  read  like 
fiction,  I  am  conscientious  in  asserting  that  almost  every 
important  incident  here  related  of  his  American  career  is 
founded  on  documentary  or  published  facts  or  upon  family 
tradition  ;  the  few  that  are  not  have  their  roots  among  the 
probabilities,  and  suggested  themselves.  As  for  the  West 


x  EXPLANATION 

Indian  part,  although  I  was  obliged  to  work  upon  the  bare 
skeleton  I  unearthed  in  the  old  Common  Records  and 
Church  Registers,  still  the  fact  remains  that  I  did  find  the 
skeleton,  which  I  have  emphasized  as  far  as  is  artistically 
possible.  No  date  is  given  nor  deed  referred  to  that 
cannot  be  found  by  other  visitors  to  the  Islands.  More 
over,  I  made  a  careful  study  of  these  Islands  as  they  were 
in  the  time  of  Hamilton  and  his  maternal  ancestors,  that  I 
might  be  enabled  to  exercise  one  of  the  leading  principles 
of  the  novelist,  which  is  to  create  character  not  only  out  of 
certain  well-known  facts  of  heredity,  but  out  of  understood 
conditions.  In  this  case  I  had,  in  addition,  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  Hamilton's  character  to  work  backward 
from,  as  well  as  his  estimate  of  the  friends  of  his  youth 
and  of  his  mother.  Therefore  I  feel  confident  that  I 
have  held  my  romancing  propensity  well  within  the  hori 
zon  of  the  probabilities ;  at  all  events,  I  have  depicted 
nothing  which  in  any  way  interferes  with  the  veracity  of 
history.  However,  having  unburdened  my  imagination,  I 
shall,  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  write  the  biography 
I  first  had  in  mind.  No  writer,  indeed,  could  assume  a 
more  delightful  task  than  to  chronicle,  in  any  form,  Ham 
ilton's  stupendous  services  to  this  country  and  his  infinite 
variety. 

G.  F.  A. 


NEVIS 

IN  the  eighteenth  century  Nevis  was  known  as  The 
Mother  of  the  English  Leeward  Caribbees.  A  Captain- 
General  ruled  the  group  in  the  name  of  the  King,  but  if 
he  died  suddenly,  his  itinerant  duties  devolved  upon  the 
Governor  of  Nevis  until  the  crown  heard  of  its  loss  and 
made  choice  of  another  to  fill  that  high  and  valued  office. 
She  had  a  Council  and  a  House  of  Assembly,  modelled  in 
miniature  upon  the  Houses  of  Peers  and  Commons ;  and 
was  further  distinguished  as  possessing  the  only  court 
in  the  English  Antilles  where  pirates  could  be  tried.  The 
Council  was  made  up  of  ten  members  appointed  by  the 
Captain-General,  but  commanded  by  "its  own  particular 
and  private  Governor."  The  freeholders  of  the  Island 
chose  twenty-four  of  their  number  to  represent  them  in 
the  House  of  Assembly ;  and  the  few  chronicles  of  that 
day  agree  in  asserting  that  Nevis  duving  her  hundred 
proud  years  of  supremacy  was  governed  brilliantly  and 
well.  But  the  careful  administration  of  good  laws  con 
tributed  in  part  only  to  the  celebrity  of  an  Island  which 
to-day,  still  British  as  she  is,  serves  but  as  a  pedestal  for 
the  greatest  of  American  statesmen.  In  those  old  days 
she  was  a  queen  as  well  as  a  mother.  Her  planters  were 
men  of  immense  wealth  and  lived  the  life  of  grandees. 
Their  cane-fields  covered  the  mountain  on  all  its  sides  and 
subsidiary  peaks,  rising  to  the  very  fringe  of  the  cold 
forest  on  the  cone  of  a  volcano  long  since  extinct.  The 
"  Great  Houses,"  built  invariably  upon  an  eminence  that 
commanded  a  view  of  the  neighbouring  islands,  —  St 


xii  NEVIS 

Christopher,  Antigua,  Montserrat,  —  were  built  of  blocks 
of  stone  so  square  and  solid  and  with  a  masonry  so  perfect 
that  one  views  their  ruins  in  amazement  to-day.  They 
withstood  hurricanes,  earthquakes,  floods,  and  tidal  waves. 
They  were  impregnable  fortresses  against  rioting  negroes 
and  spasmodically  aggressive  Frenchmen.  They  even 
survived  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  old  gay  life  went 
on  for  many  years.  English  people,  bored  or  in  search  of 
health,  came  for  the  brilliant  winter,  delighted  with  the 
hospitality  of  the  planters,  and  to  renew  their  vitality  in 
the  famous  climate  and  sulphur  baths,  which,  of  all  her 
possessions,  Time  has  spared  to  Nevis.  And  then,  having 
weathered  all  the  ills  to  which  even  a  West  Indian  Island 
can  be  subject,  she  succumbed  —  to  the  price  of  sugar. 
Her  great  families  drifted  away  one  by  one.  Her  estates 
were  given  over  to  the  agent  for  a  time,  finally  to  the 
mongoose.  The  magnificent  stone  mansions,  left  without 
even  a  caretaker,  yielded  helplessly  to  the  diseases  of  age, 
and  the  first  hurricane  entering  unbarred  windows  carried 
their  roofs  to  the  sea.  In  Charles  Town,  the  capital  since 
the  submergence  of  James  Town  in  1680,  are  the  remains 
of  large  town  houses  and  fine  old  stone  walls,  which  one 
can  hardly  see  from  the  roadstead,  so  thick  are  the  royal 
palms  and  the  cocoanut  trees  among  the  ruins,  wriggling 
their  slender  bodies  through  every  crevice  and  flaunting 
their  glittering  luxuriance  above  every  broken  wall. 

But  in  the  days  when  the  maternal  grandparents  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  looked  down  a  trifle  upon  those  who 
dwelt  on  other  isles,  Nevis  recked  of  future  insignificance 
as  little  as  a  beauty  dreams  of  age.  In  the  previous  cen 
tury  England,  after  the  mortification  of  the  Royalists  by 
Cromwell,  had  sent  to  Nevis  Hamiltons,  Herberts,  Rus- 
sells,  and  many  another  refugee  from  her  historic  houses. 


NEVIS  xiii 

With  what  money  they  took  with  them  they  founded  the 
great  estates  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  their  sons 
sent  their  own  children  to  Europe  to  become  accomplished 
men  and  women.  Government  House  was  a  miniature 
court,  as  gay  and  splendid  as  its  offices  were  busy  with 
the  commerce  of  the  world.  The  Governor  and  his  lady 
drove  about  the  Island  in  a  carriage  of  state,  with  outriders 
and  postilions  in  livery.  When  the  Captain-General  came 
he  outshone  his  proud  second  by  the  gorgeousness  of  his 
uniform  only,  and  both  dignitaries  were  little  more  impos 
ing  than  the  planters  themselves.  It  is  true  that  the  men, 
despite  their  fine  clothes  and  powdered  perukes,  preferred 
a  horse's  back  to  the  motion  of  a  lumbering  coach,  but 
during  the  winter  season  their  wives  and  daughters,  in  the 
shining  stuffs,  the  pointed  bodices,  the  elaborate  head-dress 
of  Europe,  visited  Government  House  and  their  neighbours 
with  all  the  formality  of  London  or  Bath.  After  the  first 
of  March  the  planters  wore  white  linen ;  the  turbaned 
black  women  were  busy  among  the  stones  of  the  rivers 
with  voluminous  wardrobes  of  cambric  and  lawn. 

Several  estates  belonged  to  certain  offshoots  of  the  ducal 
house  of  Hamilton,  and  in  the  second  decade  of  the  eigh 
teenth  century  Walter  Hamilton  was  Captain-General  of 
the  English  Leeward  Caribbees  and  "  Ordinary  of  the 
Same."  After  him  came  Archibald  Hamilton,  who  was, 
perhaps,  of  all  the  Hamiltons  the  most  royal  in  his  hospi 
tality.  Moreover,  he  was  a  person  of  energy  and  ambition, 
for  it  is  on  record  that  he  piid  a  visit  to  Boston,  fleeing 
from  the  great  drought  which  visited  Nevis  in  1737.  Then 
there  were  William  Leslie  Hamilton,  who  practised  at  the 
bar  in  London  for  several  years,  but  returned  to  hold  offi 
cial  position  on  Nevis,  and  his  brother  Andrew,  both  sons 
of  Dr.  William  Hamilton,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of 


jdv  NEVIS 

his  life  on  St.  Christopher.  There  were  also  Hugh  Ham- 
ilton,  Charles,  Gustavus,  and  William  Vaughn  Hamilton, 
all  planters,  most  of  them  Members  of  Council  or  of  the 
Assembly. 

And  even  in  those  remote  and  isolated  days,  Hamiltons 
and  Washingtons  were  associated.  The  most  popular 
name  in  our  annals  appears  frequently  in  the  Common 
Records  of  Nevis,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  when  our 
first  President's  American  ancestor  fled  before  Cromwell 
to  Virginia,  a  brother  took  ship  for  the  English  Caribbees. 

From  a  distance  Nevis  looks  like  a  solitary  peak  in  mid- 
ocean,  her  base  sweeping  out  on  either  side.  But  behind 
the  great  central  cone  —  rising  three  thousand  two  hun 
dred  feet  —  are  five  or  six  lesser  peaks,  between  which 
are  dense  tropical  gorges  and  mountain  streams.  In  the 
old  days,  where  the  slopes  were  not  vivid  with  the  light 
green  of  the  cane-field,  there  were  the  cool  and  sombre 
groves  of  the  cocoanut  tree,  mango,  orange,  and  guava. 

Even  when  Nevis  is  wholly  visible  there  is  always  a 
white  cloud  above  her  head.  As  night  falls  it  becomes 
evident  that  this  soft  aggravation  of  her  beauty  is  but  a 
night  robe  hung  on  high.  It  is  at  about  seven  in  the 
evening  that  she  begins  to  draw  down  her  garment  of 
mist,  but  she  is  long  in  perfecting  that  nocturnal  toilette. 
Lonely  and  neglected,  she  still  is  a  beauty,  exacting  and 
fastidious.  The  cloud  is  tortured  into  many  shapes  before 
it  meets  her  taste.  She  snatches  it  off,  redisposes  it,  dons 
and  takes  it  off  again,  wraps  it  about  her  with  yet  more 
enchanting  folds,  until  by  nine  o'clock  it  sweeps  the  sea ; 
and  Nevis,  the  proudest  island  of  the  Caribbees,  has 
secluded  herself  from  those  cynical  old  neighbours  who 
fco  longer  bend  the  knee. 


BOOK    I 

RACHAEL   LEVINE 


Nevis  gave  of  her  bounty  to  none  more  generously  than 
to  John  and  Mary  Fawcett.  In  1685  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  had  sent  the  Huguenots  swarming  to 
America  and  the  West  Indies.  Faucette  was  but  a  boy 
when  the  Tropics  gave  him  shelter,  and  learning  was  hard 
to  get ;  except  in  the  matter  of  carving  Caribs.  But  he 
acquired  the  science  of  medicine  somehow,  and  settled  on 
Nevis,  remodelled  his  name,  and  became  a  British  subject. 
Brilliant  and  able,  he  was  not  long  accumulating  a  fortune  ; 
there  were  swamps  near  Charles  Town  that  bred  fever, 
and  the  planters  lived  as  high  and  suffered  as  acutely  as 
the  English  squires  of  the  same  period.  His  wife  brought 
him  money,  and  in  1714  they  received  a  joint  legacy  from 
Captain  Frank  Keynall ;  whether  a  relative  of  hers  or  a 
patient  of  his,  the  Records  do  not  tell. 

Mary  Fawcett  was  some  twenty  years  younger  than  her 
husband,  a  high-spirited  creature,  with  much  intelligence, 
and  a  will  which  in  later  years  John  Fawcett  found  himself 
unable  to  control.  But  before  that  period,  when  to  the  dis 
parity  in  time  were  added  the  irritabilities  of  age  in  the  man 
and  the  imperiousness  of  maturity  in  the  woman,  they  were 
happy  in  their  children,  in  their  rising  fortunes,  and,  for  a 
while,  in  one  another. 

For  twenty-eight  years  they  lived  the  life  of  the  Island. 
They  built  a  Great  House  on  their  estate  at  Gingerland,  a 
slope  of  the  Island  which  faces  Antigua,  and  they  had  their 
mansion  in  town  for  use  when  the  Captain-General  was 
abiding  on  Nevis.  While  Mary  Fawcett  was  bringing  up 
and  marrying  her  children,  managing  the  household  affairs 
of  a  large  estate,  and  receiving  and  returning  the  visits  of 
the  other  grandees  of  the  Island,  to  say  nothing  of  playing 

3 


4  THE   CONQUEROR 

her  important  part  in  all  social  functions,  life  went  well 
enough.  Her  children,  far  away  from  the  swamps  of 
Charles  Town,  throve  in  the  trade  winds  which  temper 
the  sun  of  Nevis  and  make  it  an  isle  of  delight.  When 
they  were  not  studying  with  their  governesses,  there  were 
groves  and  gorges  to  play  in,  ponies  to  ride,  and  monkeys 
and  land  crabs  to  hunt.  Later  came  the  gay  life  of  the 
Capital,  the  routs  at  Government  House,  frequent  even 
when  the  Chief  was  elsewhere,  the  balls  at  neighbouring 
estates,  the  picnics  in  the  cool  high  forests,  or  where  more 
tropical  trees  and  tree  ferns  grew  thick,  the  constant  meet 
ing  with  distinguished  strangers,  and  the  visits  to  other 
islands. 

The  young  Fawcetts  married  early.  One  went  with  her 
husband,  Peter  Lytton,  to  the  island  of  St.  Croix.  The 
Danish  Government,  upon  obtaining  possession  of  this 
fertile  island,  in  1733,  immediately  issued  an  invitation  to 
the  planters  of  the  Leeward  Caribbees  to  immigrate,  tempt 
ing  many  who  were  dissatisfied  with  the  British  Govern 
ment  or  wished  for  larger  estates  than  they  could  acquire 
on  their  own  populous  islands.  Members  of  the  Lytton, 
Mitchell,  and  Stevens  families  of  St.  Christopher  were 
among  the  first  to  respond  to  the  liberal  offer  of  the 
Danish  Government.  The  two  sons  of  James  Lytton, 
Peter  and  James,  grew  up  on  St.  Croix,  Danish  by  law, 
British  in  habit  and  speech ;  and  both  married  women  of 
Nevis.  Peter  was  the  first  to  wed,  and  his  marriage  to 
young  Mary  Fawcett  was  the  last  to  be  celebrated  in  the 
Great  House  at  Gingerland. 

When  Peter  Lytton  and  his  wife  sailed  away,  as  other 
sons  and  other  daughters  had  sailed  before,  to  return  to 
Nevis  rarely,  —  for  those  were  the  days  of  travel  unve- 
neered, — John  and  Mary  Fawcett  were  left  alone:  their 
youngest  daughter,  she  who  afterward  became  the  wife 
of  Thomas  Mitchell  of  St.  Croix,  was  at  school  in  England. 

By  this  time  Dr.  Fawcett  had  given  up  his  practice  and 
was  living  on  his  income.  He  took  great  interest  in  his 
cane-fields  and  mills,  and  in  the  culture  of  limes  and  pine 
apples  ;  but  in  spite  of  his  outdoor  life  his  temper  soured 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  5 

and  he  became  irritable  and  exacting.  Gout  settled  in 
him  as  a  permanent  reminder  of  the  high  fortunes  of  his 
middle  years,  and  when  the  Gallic  excitability  of  his  tem 
perament,  aggravated  by  a  half-century  of  hot  weather, 
was  stung  to  fiercer  expression  by  the  twinges  of  his 
disease,  he  was  an  abominable  companion  for  a  woman 
twenty  years  closer  to  youth. 

In  the  solitudes  of  the  large  house  Mary  Fawcett  found 
life  unendurable.  Still  handsome,  naturally  gay  of  temper, 
and  a  brilliant  figure  in  society,  she  frequently  deserted 
her  elderly  husband  for  weeks  at  a  time.  The  day  came 
when  he  peremptorily  forbade  her  to  leave  the  place  with 
out  him.  For  a  time  she  submitted,  for  although  a  woman 
of  uncommon  independence  of  spirit,  it  was  not  until  1740 
that  she  broke  free  of  traditions  and  astonished  the  island 
of  Nevis.  She  shut  herself  up  with  her  books  and  needle 
work,  attended  to  her  house  and  domestic  negroes  with  the 
precision  of  long  habit,  saw  her  friends  when  she  could, 
and  endured  the  exactions  of  her  husband  with  only  an 
occasional  but  mighty  outburst. 

It  was  in  these  unhappy  conditions  that  Rachael  Fawcett 
was  born. 

II 

The  last  affliction  the  Fawcetts  expected  was  another 
child.  This  little  girl  came  an  unwelcome  guest  to  a 
mother  who  hated  the  father,  and  to  Dr.  Fawcett,  not 
only  because  he  had  outgrown  all  liking  for  crying  babies, 
but  because,  as  in  his  excited  disturbance  he  admitted 
to  his  wife,  his  fortune  was  reduced  by  speculations  in 
London,  and  he  had  no  desire  to  turn  to  in  his  old  age 
and  support  another  child.  Then  Mary  Fawcett  made  up 
her  definite  mind :  she  announced  her  intention  to  leave 
her  husband  while  it  was  yet  possible  to  save  her  property 
for  herself  and  the  child  to  whom  she  soon  became  passion 
ately  attached.  Dr.  Fawcett  laughed  and  shut  himself  up 
in  a  wing  where  the  sounds  of  baby  distress  could  not 
reach  him ;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  his  glance  ever  lingered 


6  THE   CONQUEROR 

on  the  lovely  face  of  his  youngest  born.  Thus  came  into 
the  world  under  the  most  painful  conditions  one  of  the 
unhappiest  women  that  has  lived.  It  was  her  splendid 
destiny  to  become  the  mother  of  the  greatest  American  of 
his  centuries,  but  this  she  died  too  soon  to  know,  and  she 
accomplished  her  part  with  an  immediate  bitterness  of  lot 
which  was  remorselessly  ordained,  no  doubt,  by  the  great 
Law  of  Compensation. 

There  were  no  divorce  laws  on  the  Islands  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  not  even  an  act  for  separate  mainten 
ance  ;  but  Mary  Fawcett  was  a  woman  of  resource.  It 
took  her  four  years  to  accomplish  her  purpose,  but  she  got 
rid  of  Dr.  FawTcett  by  making  him  more  than  anxious  to  be 
rid  of  her.  The  Captain-General,  William  Matthew,  was 
her  staunch  friend  and  admirer,  and  espoused  her  cause  to 
the  extent  of  issuing  a  writ  of  supplicavit  for  a  separate 
maintenance.  Dr.  Fawcett  gradually  yielded  to  pressure, 
separated  her  property  from  his,  that  it  might  pass  under 
her  personal  and  absolute  control,  and  settled  on  her  the 
sum  of  fifty-three  pounds,  four  shillings  annually,  as  a  full 
satisfaction  for  all  her  dower  or  third  part  of  his  estate. 

Mistress  Fawcett  was  no  longer  a  woman  of  consequence, 
for  even  her  personal  income  was  curtailed  by  the  great 
drought  of  1737,  and  Nevis,  complaisant  to  the  gallantry 
of  the  age,  was  scandalized  at  the  novelty  of  a  public 
separation.  But  she  was  free,  and  she  was  the  woman  to 
feel  that  freedom  to  her  finger  tips ;  she  could  live  a  life 
with  no  will  in  it  but  her  own,  and  she  could  bring  up  her 
little  girl  in  an  atmosphere  of  peace  and  affection.  She 
moved  to  an  estate  she  owned  on  St.  Christopher  and  never 
saw  John  Fawcett  again.  He  died  a  few  years  later,  leav 
ing  his  diminished  property  to  his  children.  Rachael's  share 
was  the  house  in  Charles  Town. 

The  spot  on  which  Rachael  spent  her  childhood  and 
brief  youth  was  one  of  the  most  picturesque  on  the  moun 
tain  range  of  St.  Christopher.  Facing  the  sea,  the  house 
stood  on  a  lofty  eminence,  in  the  very  shadow  of  Mount 
Misery.  Immediately  behind  the  house  were  the  high 
peaks  of  the  range,  hardly  less  in  pride  than  the  cone  of  the 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  7 

great  volcano.  The  house  was  built  on  a  ledge,  but  one 
could  step  from  the  terrace  above  into  an  abrupt  ravine, 
wrenched  into  its  tortuous  shape  by  earthquake  and  flood, 
but  dark  for  centuries  with  the  immovable  shades  of  a 
virgin  tropical  forest.  The  Great  House,  with  its  spacious 
open  galleries  and  verandahs,  was  surrounded  with  stone 
terraces,  overflowing  with  the  intense  red  and  orange  of  the 
hybiscus  and  croton  bush,  the  golden  browns  and  softer 
yellows  of  less  ambitious  plants,  the  sensuous  tints  of  the 
orchid,  the  high  and  glittering  beauties  of  the  palm  and 
cocoanut.  The  slopes  to  the  coast  were  covered  with  cane- 
fields,  their  bright  young  greens  sharp  against  the  dark 
blue  of  the  sea.  The  ledge  on  which  the  house  was  built 
terminated  suddenly  in  front,  but  extended  on  the  left  along 
a  line  of  cliff  above  a  chasm,  until  it  sloped  to  the  road. 
On  this  flat  eminence  was  an  avenue  of  royal  palms,  which, 
with  the  dense  wood  on  the  hill  above  it,  was  to  mariners 
one  of  the  most  familiar  landmarks  of  the  Island  of  "  St. 
Kitts."  From  her  verandah  Mary  Fawcett  could  see,  far 
down  to  the  right,  a  large  village  of  negro  huts,  only  the 
thatched  African  roofs  visible  among  the  long  leaves  of 
the  cocoanut  palms  with  which  the  blacks  invariably  sur 
round  their  dwellings.  Beyond  was  Brimstone  Hill  with 
its  impregnable  fortress.  And  on  the  left,  far  out  at  sea, 
her  purple  heights  and  palm-fringed  shores  deepening  the 
exquisite  blue  of  the  Caribbean  by  day,  a  white  ever  changing 
spirit  in  the  twilight,  and  no  more  vestige  of  her  under  the 
stars  than  had  she  sunk  whence  she  came  —  Nevis.  Mary 
Fawcett  never  set  foot  on  her  again,  but  she  learned  to  sit 
and  study  her  with  a  whimsical  affection  which  was  one  of 
the  few  liberties  she  allowed  her  imagination.  But  if  the 
unhappiest  years  of  her  life  had  been  spent  there,  so  had 
her  fairest.  She  had  loved  her  brilliant  husband  in  her 
youth,  and  all  the  social  triumphs  of  a  handsome  and  fortu 
nate  young  woman  had  been  hers.  In  the  deep  calm 
which  now  intervened  between  the  two  mental  hurricanes 
of  her  life,  she  sometimes  wondered  if  she  had  exaggerated 
her  past  afflictions ;  and  before  she  died  she  knew  how 
insignificant  the  tragedy  of  her  own  life  had  been. 


8  THE   CONQUEROR 

Although  Rachael  was  born  when  her  parents  were  past 
their  prime,  the  vitality  that  was  in  her  was  concentrated 
and  strong.  It  was  not  enough  to  give  her  a  long  life,  but 
while  it  lasted  she  was  a  magnificent  creature,  and  the  end 
was  abrupt;  there  was  no  slow  decay.  During  her  child 
hood  she  lived  in  the  open  air,  for  except  in  the  cold  nights 
of  a  brief  winter  only  the  jalousies  were  closed ;  and  on 
that  high  shelf  even  the  late  summer  and  early  autumn 
were  not  insufferable.  Exhausted  as  the  trade  winds 
become,  they  give  what  little  strength  is  in  them  to  the 
heights  of  their  favourite  isles,  and  during  the  rest  of  the 
year  they  are  so  constant,  even  when  storms  rage  in 
the  North  Atlantic,  that  Nevis  and  St.  Christopher  never 
feel  the  full  force  of  the  sun,  and  the  winter  nights  are  cold. 

Rachael  was  four  years  old  when  her  parents  separated, 
and  grew  to  womanhood  remembering  nothing  of  her  father 
and  seeing  little  of  her  kin,  scattered  far  and  wide.  Her 
one  unmarried  sister,  upon  her  return  from  England,  went 
almost  immediately  to  visit  Mrs.  Lytton,  and  married 
Thomas  Mitchell,  one  of  the  wealthiest  planters  of  St. 
Croix.  Mary  Fawcett's  children  had  not  approved  her 
course,  for  they  remembered  their  father  as  the  most  in 
dulgent  and  charming  of  men,  whose  frequent  tempers 
were  quickly  forgotten  ;  and  year  by  year  she  became  more 
wholly  devoted  to  the  girl  who  clung  to  her  with  a  pas 
sionate  and  uncritical  affection. 

Clever  and  accomplished  herself,  and  quick  with  ambi 
tion  for  her  best  beloved  child,  she  employed  the  most 
cultivated  tutors  on  the  Island  to  instruct  her  in  English, 
Latin,  and  French.  Before  Rachael  was  ten  years  old, 
Mistress  Fawcett  had  the  satisfaction  to  discover  that  the 
little  girl  possessed  a  distinguished  mind,  and  took  to  hard 
study,  and  to  les  graces,  as  naturally  as  she  rode  a  pony 
over  the  hills  or  shot  the  reef  in  her  boat. 

For  several  years  the  women  of  St.  Christopher  held 
aloof,  but  many  of  the  planters  who  had  been  guests  at  the 
Great  House  in  Gingerland  called  on  Mistress  Fawcett  at 
once,  and  proffered  advice  and  service.  Of  these  William 
Hamilton  and  Archibald  Hamn  became  her  staunch  and 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  9 

intimate  friends.  Mr.  Hamn's  estate  adjoined  hers,  and 
his  overlooker  relieved  her  of  much  care.  Dr.  James 
Hamilton,  who  had  died  in  the  year  preceding  her  formal 
separation,  had  been  a  close  friend  of  her  husband  and 
herself,  and  his  brother  hastened  with  assurance  of  his 
wish  to  serve  her.  He  was  one  of  the  eminent  men  of  the 
Island,  a  planter  and  a  member  of  Council ;  also,  a  "  doc 
tor  of  physic."  He  carried  Rachael  safely  through  her 
childhood  complaints  and  the  darkest  of  her  days ;  and  if 
his  was  the  hand  which  opened  the  gates  between  herself 
and  history,  who  shall  say  in  the  light  of  the  glorified  result 
that  its  master  should  not  sleep  in  peace  ? 

In  time  his  wife  called,  and  his  children  and  stepchildren 
brought  a  new  experience  into  the  life  of  Rachael.  She  had 
been  permitted  to  gambol  occasionally  with  the  "pic'nees" 
of  her  mother's  maids,  but  since  her  fourth  year  had  not 
spoken  to  a  white  child  until  little  Catherine  Hamilton 
came  to  visit  her  one  morning  and  brought  Christiana 
Huggins  of  Nevis.  Mistress  Huggins  had  known  Mary 
Fawcett  too  well  to  call  with  Mistress  Hamilton,  but  sent 
Christiana  as  a  peace  offering.  Mary's  first  disposition 
was  to  pack  the  child  off  while  Mistress  Hamilton  was 
offering  her  embarrassed  explanations;  but  Rachael  clung 
to  her  new  treasure  with  such  shrieks  of  protest  that  her 
mother,  disconcerted  by  this  vigour  of  opposition  to  her 
will,  permitted  the  intruder  to  remain. 

The  wives  of  other  planters  followed  Mistress  Hamilton, 
for  in  that  soft  voluptuous  climate,  where  the  rush  and 
fret  of  great  cities  are  but  a  witch's  tale,  disapproval  dies 
early.  They  would  have  called  long  since  had  they  not 
been  a  trifle  in  awe  of  Nevis,  more,  perhaps,  of  Mistress 
Fawcett's  sharp  tongue,  then  indolent.  But  when  Mis 
tress  Hamilton  suddenly  reminded  them  that  they  were 
Christians,  and  that  Dr.  Fawcett  was  dead,  they  put  on 
their  London  gowns,  ordered  out  their  coaches,  and  called. 
Mary  Fawcett  received  them  with  a  courteous  indifference. 
Her  resentment  had  died  long  since,  and  they  seemed  to 
her,  with  their  coaches  and  brocades  and  powdered  locks, 
but  the  ghosts  of  the  Nevis  of  her  youth.  Her  child,  her 


io  THE   CONQUEROR 

estate,  and  her  few  tried  friends  absorbed  her.  For  the 
sake  of  her  daughter's  future,  she  ordered  out  her  ancient 
coach  and  made  the  round  of  the  Island  once  a  year.  The 
ladies  of  St.  Kitts  were  as  moderately  punctilious. 

And  so  the  life  of  Rachael  Fawcett  for  sixteen  years 
passed  uneventfully  enough.  Her  spirits  were  often  very 
high,  for  she  inherited  the  Gallic  buoyancy  of  her  father  as 
well  as  the  brilliant  qualities  of  his  mind.  In  the  serious 
depths  of  her  nature  were  strong  passions  and  a  tendency 
to  melancholy,  the  result  no  doubt  of  the  unhappy  condi 
tions  of  her  birth.  But  her  mother  managed  so  to  occupy 
her  eager  ambitious  mind  with  hard  study  that  the  girl  had 
little  acquaintance  with  herself.  Her  English  studies  were 
almost  as  varied  as  a  boy's,  and  in  addition  to  her  accom 
plishments  in  the  ancient  and  modern  languages,  she 
painted,  and  sang,  played  the  harp  and  guitar.  Mary 
Fawcett,  for  reasons  of  her  own,  never  let  her  forget  that 
she  was  the  most  educated  girl  on  the  Islands. 

"  I  never  was  one  to  lie  on  a  sofa  all  day  and  fan 
myself,  while  my  children  sat  on  the  floor  with  their  blacks, 
and  munched  sugar-cane,  or  bread  and  sling,"  she  would 
remark  superfluously.  "  All  my  daughters  are  a  credit  to 
their  husbands ;  but  I  mean  that  you  shall  be  the  most 
brilliant  woman  in  the  Antilles." 

The  immediate  consequences  of  Rachael's  superior  edu 
cation  were  two :  her  girl  friends  ceased  to  interest  her, 
and  ambitions  developed  in  her  strong  imaginative  brain. 
In  those  days  women  so  rarely  distinguished  themselves 
individually  that  it  is  doubtful  if  Rachael  had  ever  heard  of 
the  phenomenon,  and  the  sum  of  her  worldly  aspirations 
was  a  wealthy  and  intellectual  husband  who  would  take  her 
to  live  and  to  shine  at  foreign  courts.  Her  nature  was  too 
sweet  and  her  mind  too  serious  for  egoism  or  the  pettier 
vanities,  but  she  hardly  could  help  being  conscious  of  the 
energy  of  her  brain ;  and  if  she  had  passed  through  child 
hood  in  ignorance  of  her  beauty,  she  barely  had  entered 
her  teens  when  her  happy  indifference  was  dispelled ;  for 
the  young  planters  besieged  her  gates. 

Girls  mature  very  early  in  the  tropics,  and  at  fourteen 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  n 

Rachael  Fawcett  was  the  unresponsive  toast  from  Basse 
terre  to  Sandy  Point.  Her  height  was  considerable,  and 
she  had  the  round  supple  figure  of  a  girl  who  has  lived 
the  out-door  life  in  moderation ;  full  of  strength  and  grace, 
and  no  exaggeration  of  muscle.  She  had  a  fine  mane  of 
reddish  fair  hair,  a  pair  of  sparkling  eager  gray  eyes  which 
could  go  black  with  passion  or  even  excited  interest,  a  long 
nose  so  sensitively  cut  that  she  could  express  any  mood  she 
chose  with  her  nostrils,  which  expanded  quite  alarmingly 
when  she  flew  into  a  temper,  and  a  full  well-cut  mouth. 
Her  skin  had  the  whiteness  and  transparency  peculiar  to 
the  women  of  St.  Kitts  and  Nevis ;  her  head  and  brow 
were  nobly  modelled,  and  the  former  she  carried  high  to 
the  day  of  her  death.  It  was  set  so  far  back  on  her 
shoulders  and  on  a  line  so  straight  that  it  would  look 
haughty  in  her  coffin.  What  wonder  that  the  young 
planters  besieged  her  gates,  that  her  aspirations  soared 
high,  that  Mary  Fawcett  dreamed  of  a  great  destiny  for 
this  worshipped  child  of  her  old  age  ?  As  for  the  young 
planters,  they  never  got  beyond  the  gates,  for  a  dragon 
stood  there.  Mistress  Fawcett  had  no  mind  to  run  the 
risk  of  early  entanglements.  When  Rachael  was  old 
enough  she  would  be  provided  with  a  distinguished  hus 
band  from  afar,  selected  by  the  experienced  judgement  of  a 
woman  of  the  world. 

But  Mary  Fawcett,  still  hot-headed  and  impulsive  in  her 
second  half-century,  was  more  prone  to  err  in  crises  than 
her  daughter.  In  spite  of  the  deeper  passions  of  her 
nature,  Rachael,  except  when  under  the  lash  of  strong 
excitement,  had  a  certain  clearness  of  insight  and  delibera 
tion  of  judgement  which  her  mother  lacked  to  her  last  day.. 

Ill 

Rachael  had  just  eaten  the  last  of  her  sixteenth  birthday 
sweets  when,  at  a  ball  at  Government  House,  she  met  John 
Michael  Levine.  It  was  her  debut;  she  was  the  fairest 
creature  in  the  room,  and,  in  the  idiom  of  Dr.  Hamilton, 
the  men  besieged  her  as  were  she  Brimstone  Hill  in  pos- 


12  THE   CONQUEROR 

session  of  the  French.  The  Governor  and  the  Captain- 
General  had  asked  her  to  dance,  and  even  the  women 
smiled  indulgently,  disarmed  by  so  much  innocent  loveliness. 

Levine,  albeit  a  Dane,  and  as  colourless  as  most  of  his 
countrymen,  was  her  determined  suitor  before  the  night 
was  half  over.  It  may  be  that  he  was  merely  dazzled  by 
the  regal  position  to  which  the  young  men  bad  elevated 
her,  and  that  his  cold  blood  quickened  at  the  thought  of 
possessing  what  all  men  desired,  but  he  was  as  immediate 
and  persistent  in  his  suit  as  any  excitable  Creole  in  the 
room.  But  Rachael  gave  him  scant  attention  that  night. 
She  may  have  been  intellectual,  but  she  was  also  a  girl,  and 
it  was  her  first  ball.  She  was  dazzled  and  happy,  delighted 
with  her  conquests,  oblivious  to  the  depths  of  her  nature. 

The  next  day  Levine,  strong  in  the  possession  of  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Peter  Lytton,  —  for  a  fortnight  forgotten,  —  pre 
sented  himself  at  Mistress  Fawcett's  door,  and  was  admitted. 
The  first  call  was  brief  and  perfunctory,  but  he  came  the 
next  day  and  the  next.  Rachael,  surprised,  but  little  inter 
ested,  and  longing  for  her  next  ball,  strummed  the  harp  at 
her  mother's  command  and  received  his  compliments  with 
indifference.  A  week  after  his  first  call  Mary  Fawcett 
drove  into  town  and  spent  an  hour  with  the  Governor.  He 
told  her  that  Levine  had  brought  him  a  personal  letter 
from  the  Governor  of  St.  Croix,  and  that  he  was  wealthy 
and  well  born.  He  was  also,  in  his  Excellency's  opinion,  a 
distinguished  match  even  for  the  most  beautiful  and  accom 
plished  girl  on  the  Island.  Peter  Lytton  had  mentioned  in 
his  letter  that  Levine  purposed  buying  an  estate  on  St. 
Croix  and  settling  down  to  the  life  of  a  planter.  On  the  fol 
lowing  day  Levine  told  her  that  already  he  was  half  a  West 
Indian,  so  fascinated  was  he  with  the  life  and  the  climate,  but 
that  if  she  would  favour  his  suit  he  would  take  Rachael  to 
Copenhagen  as  often  as  she  wished  for  the  life  of  the  world. 

Mary  Fawcett  made  up  her  mind  that  he  should  marry 
Rachael,  and  it  seemed  to  her  that  no  mother  had  ever 
come  to  a  wiser  decision.  Her  health  was  failing,  and  it 
was  her  passionate  wish  not  only  to  leave  her  child  encir 
cled  by  the  protection  of  a  devoted  husband,  but  to  realize 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  13 

the  high  ambitions  she  had  cherished  from  the  hour  she 
foresaw  that  Rachael  was  to  be  an  exceptional  woman. 

Levine  had  not  seen  Rachael  on  the  morning  when  he 
asked  for  her  hand,  and  he  called  two  days  later  to  press 
his  suit  and  receive  his  answer.  Mistress  Fawcett  told  him 
that  she  had  made  up  her  own  mind  and  would  perform 
that  office  for  Rachael  at  once,  but  thought  it  best  that  he 
should  absent  himself  until  the  work  was  complete.  Levine, 
promised  an  answer  on  the  morrow,  took  himself  off,  and 
Mary  Fawcett  sent  for  her  daughter. 

Rachael  entered  the  library  with  a  piece  of  needlework 
in  her  hand.  Her  mind  was  not  on  her  books  these  days, 
for  she  had  gone  to  another  ball ;  but  her  hands  had  been 
too  well  brought  up  to  idle,  however  her  brain  might  dream. 
Mary  Fawcett  by  this  time  wore  a  large  cap  with  a  frill, 
and  her  face,  always  determined  and  self-willed,  was  grow 
ing  austere  with  years  and  much  pain  :  she  suffered  fright 
fully  at  times  with  rheumatism,  and  her  apprehension  of 
the  moment  when  it  should  attack  her  heart  reconciled  her 
to  the  prospect  of  brief  partings  from  her  daughter.  Her 
eyes  still  burned  with  the  fires  of  an  indiminishable  courage 
however ;  she  read  the  yellow  pages  of  her  many  books  as 
rapidly  as  in  her  youth,  and  if  there  was  a  speck  of  dust  on 
her  mahogany  floors,  polished  with  orange  juice,  she  saw  it. 
Her  negroes  adored  her  but  trembled  when  she  raised  her 
voice,  and  Rachael  never  had  disobeyed  her.  She  expected 
some  dissatisfaction,  possibly  a  temper,  but  no  opposition. 

Rachael  smiled    confidently  and  sat    down.     She  wore 

one  of  the  thin  white  linens,  which,  like  the  other  women 

of  the  Islands,  she  put  aside  for  heavier    stuffs  on  state 

occasions  only,  and  her  hair  had   tumbled   from  its  high 

comb  and  fallen  upon  her  shoulders.      Mary  Fawcett  sighed 

s  she  looked  at  her.     She  was  too  young  to  marry,  and 

id  it  not  been  for  the  haunting  terror  of  leaving  her  alone 

in   the  world,  the   Dane,  well  circumstanced  as    he   was, 

would  have  been  repulsed  with  contumely. 

"  Rachael,"  said  her  mother,  gently,  "  put  down  your 
tapestry.  I  have  something  to  say  to  you,  something  of 
great  import." 


i4  THE   CONQUEROR 

Rachael  dropped  her  work  and  met  her  mother's  eyes. 
They  were  hard  with  will  and  definite  purpose.  In  an 
instant  she  divined  what  was  coming,  and  stood  up.  Her 
face  could  not  turn  any  whiter,  but  her  eyes  were  black  at 
once,  and  her  nostrils  spread. 

"  It  cannot  be  possible  that  you  wish  me  to  marry  that 
man  —  Levine,"  she  stammered.  "  I  do  not  know  how  I 
can  think  of  such  a  thing — but  I  do — it  seems  to  me  I  see 
it  in  your  eyes." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother,  with  some  uneasiness.  "  I  do  ; 
and  my  reasons  are  good  —  " 

"  I  won't  listen  to  them  !  "  shrieked  Rachael.  "  I  won't 
marry  him  !  His  whiteness  makes  me  sick  !  I  know  he  is 
not  a  good  man  !  I  feel  it !  I  never  could  be  happy  with 
him  !  I  never  could  love  him  !  " 

Mary  Fawcett  looked  at  her  aghast,  and,  for  a  moment, 
without  answering ;  she  saw  her  own  will  asserting  itself, 
heard  it  on  those  piercing  notes,  and  she  knew  that  it 
sprang  from  stronger  and  more  tragic  foundations  than  had 
ever  existed  in  her  own  nature  ;  but  believing  herself  to  be 
right,  she  determined  to  prevail. 

"  What  do  you  know  about  men,  my  darling  ? "  she  said 
soothingly.  "  You  have  been  dreaming  romantic  dreams, 
and  young  Levine  does  not  resemble  the  hero.  That  is  all. 
Women  readjust  themselves  marvellously  quick.  When 
you  are  married  to  him,  and  he  is  your  tender  and  devoted 
husband,  you  will  forget  your  prince  —  who,  no  doubt,  is 
dark  and  quite  splendid.  But  we  never  meet  our  princes, 
my  dear,  and  romantic  love  is  only  one  of  the  things  we 
live  for  —  and  for  that  we  live  but  a  little  while.  Levine 
is  all  that  I  could  wish  for  you.  He  is  wealthy,  aristo 
cratic,  and  chivalrously  devoted." 

Her  long  speech  had  given  her  daughter  time  to  cool, 
but  Rachael  remained  standing,  and  stared  defiantly  into 
the  eyes  which  had  relaxed  somewhat  with  anxious  surprise. 

"  I  feel  that  he  is  not  a  good  man,"  she  repeated  sullenly, 
"  and  I  hate  him.  I  should  die  if  he  touched  me.  I  have  not 
danced  with  him.  His  hands  are  so  white  and  soft,  and  his 
eyes  never  change,  and  his  mouth  reminds  me  of  a  shark's." 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  15 

"  Levine  is  a  remarkably  handsome  man,"  exclaimed 
Mistress  Fawcett,  indignantly.  "You  have  trained  your 
imagination  to  some  purpose,  it  seems.  Forget  your  poets 
when  he  comes  to-morrow,  and  look  at  him  impartially. 
And  cannot  he  give  you  all  that  you  so  much  desire,  my 
ambitious  little  daughter?  Do  you  no  longer  want  to  go 
to  Europe  ?  to  court  ?  to  be  grande  dame  and  converse  with 
princes  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Rachael.  "  I  want  that  as  much  as  ever; 
but  I  want  to  love  the  man.  I  want  to  be  happy." 

"  Well,  do  love  him,"  exclaimed  her  mother  with  energy. 
"  Your  father  was  twenty  years  older  than  myself,  and  a 
Frenchman,  but  I  made  up  my  mind  to  love  him,  and  I  did 
—  for  a  good  many  years." 

"  You  had  to  leave  him  in  the  end.  Do  you  wish  me  to 
do  the  same  ?  " 

"  You  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  There  never  was  but 
one  John  Fawcett." 

"  I  don't  love  this  Levine,  and  I  never  shall  love  him. 
I  don't  believe  at  all  that  that  kind  of  feeling  can  be  created 
by  the  brain,  that  it  responds  to  nothing  but  the  will.  I 
shall  not  love  that  way.  I  may  be  ignorant,  but  I  know 
that." 

"  You  have  read  too  much  Shakespeare  !  Doubtless  you 
imagine  yourself  one  of  his  heroines — Juliet?  Rosa 
lind  ? " 

"  I  have  never  imagined  myself  anybody  but  Rachael 
Fawcett.  I  cannot  imagine  myself  Rachael  Levine.  But 
I  know  something  of  myself  —  I  have  read  and  thought 
enough  for  that.  I  could  love  someone  —  but  not  this 
bleached  repulsive  Dane.  Why  will  you  not  let  me  wait  ? 
It  is  my  right.  No,  you  need  not  curl  your  lip  —  I  am  not 
a  little  girl.  I  may  be  sixteen.  I  may  be  without  experi 
ence  in  the  world,  but  you  have  been  almost  my  only  com 
panion,  and  until  just  now  I  have  talked  with  middle-aged 
men  only,  and  much  with  them.  I  had  no  real  childhood. 
You  have  educated  my  brain  far  beyond  my  years.  To-day 
I  feel  twenty,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  I  see  far  down  into 
myself  —  much  deeper  than  you  do.  I  tell  you  that  if  I 


1 6  THE   CONQUEROR 

marry  this  man,  I  shall  be  the  most  hopeless  wretch  on 
earth." 

Mary  Fawcett  was  puzzled  and  distressed,  but  she  did 
not  waver  for  a  moment.  The  cleverest  of  girls  could  not 
know  what  was  best  for  herself,  and  the  mother  who  per 
mitted  her  daughter  to  take  her  life  into  her  own  hands 
was  a  poor  creature  indeed. 

"  Listen,  my  dear  child,"  she  said  tenderly,  "  you  have 
always  trusted  in  me,  believed  me.  I  know  that  this  is  a 
wise  and  promising  marriage  for  you.  And  —  "  she  hesi 
tated,  but  it  was  time  to  play  her  trump.  "  You  know  that 
my  health  is  not  good,  but  you  do  not  know  how  bad  it  is. 
Dr.  Hamilton  says  that  the  rheumatism  may  fly  to  my  heart 
at  any  moment,  and  I  must  see  you  married  —  " 

She  had  ejaculated  the  last  words;  Rachael  had  shrieked, 
and  flung  herself  upon  her,  her  excitement  at  this  sudden 
and  cruel  revelation  bursting  out  in  screams  and  sobs  and 
a  torrent  of  tears.  Her  mother  had  seen  her  excited  and 
in  brief  ungovernable  tempers,  but  she  never  had  suspected 
that  she  was  capable  of  such  passion  as  this ;  and,  much 
disturbed,  she  led  her  off  to  bed,  and  sent  for  her  advisers, 
Archibald  Hamn  and  Dr.  Hamilton. 

IV 

Mr.  Hamn  responded  at  once  to  the  widow's  call,  his 
adjacence  giving  him  the  advantage  of  Dr.  Hamilton,  of 
whom  he  was  a  trifle  jealous.  He  was  an  old  bachelor  and 
had  proposed  to  Mistress  Fawcett  —  a  captivating  woman 
till  her  last  hour  —  twice  a  year  since  her  husband's  death. 
But  matrimony  had  been  a  bitter  medicine  for  Mary  after 
her  imagination  had  ceased  to  sweeten  it,  and  her  invariable 
answer  to  her  several  suitors  was  the  disquieting  assertion 
that  if  ever  she  was  so  rash  as  to  take  another  husband, 
she  certainly  should  kill  him.  Archibald  was  not  the  man 
to  conquer  her  prejudices,  although  she  loved  the  sterling 
in  him  and  attached  him  to  her  by  every  hook  of  friend 
ship.  He  was  a  dark  nervous  little  man,  spare  as  most 
West  Indians,  used  a  deal  of  snuff,  and  had  a  habit  of 


RACHAEL  LEVINE  17 

pushing  back  his  wig  with  a  jerking  forearm  when  in 
heated  controversy  with  Dr.  Hamilton,  or  expounding 
matrimony  to  the  widow. 

Dr.  Hamilton,  for  whose  arrival  Mr.  Hamn  was  kept 
waiting, —  Mistress  Fawcett  tarried  until  her  daughter  fell 
asleep, —  was  a  large  square  man,  albeit  lean,  and  only  less 
nervous  than  the  widow's  suitor.  His  white  locks  were 
worn  in  a  queue,  a  few  escaping  to  soften  his  big  powerful 
face.  Both  men  wore  white  linen,  but  Dr.  Hamilton  was 
rarely  seen  without  his  riding-boots,  his  advent,  except  in 
Mistress  Fawcett's  house,  heralded  by  the  clanking  of 
spurs.  Mary  would  have  none  of  his  spurs  on  her 
mahogany  floors,  and  the  doctor  never  yet  had  been  able 
to  dodge  the  darkey  who  stood  guard  at  her  doorstep. 

The  two  men  exchanged  mild  surmises  as  to  the  cause 
of  the  summons  ;  but  as  similar  summons  occurred  when 
newly  wedded  blacks  were  pounding  each  other's  heads, 
provoked  thereto  by  the  galling  chain  of  decency,  or  an 
obeah  doctor  had  tied  a  sinister  warning  to  Mistress 
Fawcett's  knocker,  neither  of  the  gentlemen  anticipated 
serious  work.  When  Mary  Fawcett  entered  the  long 
room,  however,  both  forgot  the  dignity  of  their  years  and 
position,  and  ran  forward. 

Dr.  Hamilton  lifted  her  as  if  she  had  been  a  palm  leaf, 
and  laid  her  on  the  sofa.  He  despatched  Mr.  Hamn  for  a 
glass  of  Spanish  port,  and  forbade  her  to  speak  until  he 
gave  permission. 

But  Mary  Fawcett  made  brief  concessions  to  the  weak 
ness  of  the  flesh.  She  drank  the  wine,  then  sat  up  and 
told  her  story. 

"  Oh,  Mary,"  said  Dr.  Hamilton,  sadly,  "why  do  you  ask 
our  advice  ?  Your  ear  may  listen,  but  never  your  mind. 
If  it  were  a  matter  of  business,  we  might  even  be  allowed 
to  act  for  you ;  but  in  a  domestic  - 

"  What  ? "  cried  Mistress  Fawcett ;  "  have  I  not  asked 
your  advice  a  thousand  times  about  Rachael,  and  have  I 
not  always  taken  it?" 

"  I  recall  many  of  the  conversations,  but  I  doubt  if  you 
could  recall  the  advice.  However,  if  you  want  it  this  time, 


1 8  THE   CONQUEROR 

I  will  give  it  to  you.  Don't  force  the  girl  to  marry  against 
her  will  —  assuredly  not  if  the  man  is  repulsive  to  her. 
For  all  your  brains  you  are  a  baby  about  men  and  women. 
Rachael  knows  more  by  instinct.  She  is  an  extraordinary 
girl,  and  should  be  allowed  time  to  make  her  own  choice. 
If  you  are  afraid  of  death,  leave  her  to  me.  I  will  legally 
adopt  her  now,  if  you  choose  — 

"  Yes,  and  should  you  die  suddenly,  your  wife  would 
think  Rachael  one  too  many,  what  with  your  brood  and 
the  Edwardses  to  boot."  Mistress  Fawcettwas  nettled  by 
his  jibe  at  the  limit  of  her  wisdom.  "  I  shall  leave  her 
with  a  husband.  To  that  I  have  made  up  my  mind. 
What  have  you  to  say,  Archibald  ? " 

This  was  an  advantage  which  Mr.  Hamn  never  failed  to 
seize ;  he  always  agreed  with  the  widow ;  Dr.  Hamilton 
never  did.  Moreover,  he  was  sincerely  convinced  that  — 
save,  perhaps,  in  matters  of  money  —  Mary  Fawcett  could 
not  err. 

"  I  like  the  appearance  of  this  Dane,"  he  said,  reassur 
ingly,  "  and  his  little  country  has  a  valiant  history.  This 
young  man  is  quite  prince-like  in  his  bearing,  and  his 
extreme  fairness  is  but  one  more  evidence  of  his  high 
breeding  —  " 

"  He  looks  like  a  shark's  belly,"  interrupted  Dr.  Hamil 
ton,  "  I  don't  wonder  he  sickens  Rachael.  I  have  nothing 
against  him  but  his  appearance,  but  if  he  came  after  Kitty 
I'd  throw  him  out  by  the  seat  of  his  breeches." 

"  He  never  looked  at  Kitty,  at  Government  House,  nor  at 
Mistress  Montgomerie's,"  cried  Mary.  "You  are  jealous, 
Will,  because  Rachael  has  carried  off  the  foreign  prize." 

Dr.  Hamilton  laughed,  then  added  seriously,  "  I  am 
too  fond  of  the  girl  to  forbear  to  give  my  advice.  Let  her 
choose  her  own  husband.  If  you  dare  to  cut  out  her 
future,  as  if  it  were  one  of  her  new  frocks,  you  have  more 
courage  than  I.  She  has  more  in  her  than  twenty  women. 
Let  her  alone  for  the  next  five  years,  then  she  will  have 
no  one  to  answer  to  but  herself.  Otherwise,  my  lady,  you 
may  find  yourself  holding  your  breath  in  a  hurricane 
track,  with  no  refuge  from  the  storm  you've  whipped  up 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  19 

but  five  feet  underneath.  If  you  won't  give  her  to  me, 
there  are  her  sisters.  They  are  all  wealthy  - 

"  They  are  years  older  than  Rachael  and  would  not 
understand  her  at  all." 

"  I  can't  see  why  they  should  not  understand  her  as  well 
as  a  strange  man." 

"  He  will  be  her  husband,  madly  in  love  with  her." 

"  Levine  will  never  be  madly  in  love  with  anybody. 
Besides,  it  would  not  matter  to  Rachael  if  her  sisters  did 
not  understand  her ;  she  has  too  strong  a  brain  not  to  be 
independent  of  the  ordinary  female  nonsense  ;  moreover, 
she  has  a  fine  disposition  and  her  own  property.  But  if 
her  husband  did  not  understand  her, —  in  other  words,  if 
their  tastes  proved  as  opposite  as  their  temperaments, —  it 
would  make  a  vast  deal  of  difference.  Sisters  can  be  got 
rid  of,  but  husbands  —  well,  you  know  the  difficulties." 

"I  will  think  over  all  you  have  said,"  replied  Mary,  with 
sudden  humility ;  she  had  great  respect  for  the  doctor. 
"  But  don't  you  say  a  word  to  Rachael." 

"I'm  far  too  much  afraid  of  you  for  that.  But  I  wish 
that  Will  were  home  or  Andrew  old  enough.  I'd  set  one 
of  them  on  to  cut  this  Dane  out.  Well,  I  must  go ;  send 
for  me  whenever  you  are  in  need  of  advice,"  and  with  a 
parting  laugh  he  strode  out  of  the  house  and  roared  to  the 
darkey  to  come  and  fasten  his  spurs. 

Archibald  Hamn,  who  foresaw  possibilities  in  the  widow's 
loneliness,  and  who  judged  men  entirely  by  their  manners, 
remained  to  assure  Mistress  Fawcett  of  the  wisdom  of  her 
choice,  and  to  offer  his  services  as  mediator.  Mary 
laughed  and  sent  him  home.  She  wrote  to  Levine  not  to 
call  until  she  bade  him,  and  for  several  days  pondered 
deeply  upon  her  daughter's  opposition  and  Dr.  Hamilton's 
advice.  The  first  result  of  this  perturbing  distrust  in  her 
own  wisdom  was  a  violent  attack  of  rheumatism  in  the 
region  of  her  heart;  and  while  she  believed  herself  to  be 
dying,  she  wrung  from  her  distracted  daughter  a  promise 
to  marry  Levine.  She  recovered  from  the  attack,  but 
concluded  that,  the  promise  being  won,  it  would  be  folly  to 
give  it  back.  Moreover,  the  desire  to  see  her  daughter 


20  THE  CONQUEROR 

married  had  been  aggravated  by  her  brush  with  death,  and 
after  another  interview  with  Levine,  in  which  he  promised 
all  that  the  fondest  mother  could  demand,  she  opened  her 
chests  of  fine  linen. 

Rachael  submitted.  She  dared  not  excite  her  mother. 
Her  imagination,  always  vivid  though  it  was,  refused  to 
picture  the  end  she  dreaded ;  and  she  never  saw  Levine 
alone.  His  descriptions  of  life  in  Copenhagen  interested 
her,  and  when  her  mother  expatiated  upon  the  glittering 
destiny  which  awaited  her,  ambition  and  pride  responded, 
although  precisely  as  they  had  done  in  her  day  dreams. 
She  found  herself  visioning  Copenhagen,  jewels,  brocades, 
and  courtiers ;  but  she  realized  only  when  she  withdrew  to 
St.  Kitts,  that  Levine  had  not  entered  the  dream,  even  to 
pass  and  bend  the  knee.  Often  she  laughed  aloud  in  mer 
riment.  As  the  wedding-day  approached,  she  lost  her 
breath  more  than  once,  and  her  skin  chilled.  During  the 
last  few  days  before  the  ceremony  she  understood  for  the 
first  time  that  it  was  inevitable.  But  time  —  it  was  now 
three  months  since  the  needlewomen  were  set  at  the  trous 
seau — and  her  unconscious  acceptance  of  the  horrid  fact 
had  trimmed  her  spirit  to  philosophy,  altered  the  habit  of 
her  mind.  She  saw  her  mother  radiant,  received  the  per 
sonal  congratulations  of  every  family  on  the  Island.  Her 
sisters  came  from  St.  Croix,  and  made  much  of  the  little 
girl  who  was  beginning  life  so  brilliantly ;  beautiful  silks 
and  laces  had  come  from  New  York,  and  Levine  had  given 
her  jewels,  which  she  tried  on  her  maid  every  day  because 
she  thought  the  mustee's  tawny  skin  enhanced  their  lustre. 
She  was  but  a  child  in  spite  of  her  intellect.  Her  union 
with  the  Dane  came  to  appear  as  one  of  the  laws  of 
life,  and  she  finished  by  accepting  it  as  one  accepted  an 
earthquake  or  a  hurricane.  Moreover,  she  was  profoundly 
innocent. 

V 

Mary  Fawcett  accompanied  the  Levines  to  Copenhagen, 
but  returned  to  St.  Christopher  by  a  ship  which  left  Den 
mark  a  month  later,  being  one  of  those  women  who  picture 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  2 

their  terrestrial  affairs  in  a  state  of  dissolution  while  de 
prived  of  their  vigilance.  She  vowed  that  the  North  had 
killed  her  rheumatism,  and  turned  an  absent  ear  to- 
Rachael's  appeal  to  tarry  until  Levine  was  ready  to  return 
to  St.  Croix.  She  remained  long  enough  in  Denmark,  how 
ever,  to  see  her  daughter  presented  at  court,  and  installed 
with  all  the  magnificence  that  an  ambitious  mother  could 
desire.  There  was  not  a  misgiving  in  her  mind,  for 
Rachael,  if  somewhat  inanimate,  could  not  be  unhappy 
with  an  uxorious  husband  and  the  world  at  her  feet ;  and 
although  for  some  time  after  her  marriage  she  had  behaved 
like  a  naughty  child  caught  in  a  trap,  and  been  a  sore  trial 
to  her  mother  and  Mr.  Levine,  since  her  arrival  in  Copen 
hagen  she  had  deported  herself  most  becomingly  and 
indulged  in  no  more  tantrums.  Levine  had  conducted 
himself  admirably  during  his  trying  honeymoon.  Upon 
his  arrival  in  Copenhagen  he  had  littered  his  wife's  boudoir 
with  valuable  gifts,  and  exhibited  the  beauty  he  had  won 
with  a  pride  very  gratifying  to  his  mother-in-law.  In  six 
months  he  was  to  sail  for  his  estates  on  St.  Croix,  and  pay 
an  immediate  visit  to  St.  Kitts,  whence  Mistress  Fawcett 
would  return  with  her  daughter  for  a  sojourn  of  several 
months.  She  returned  to  her  silent  home  the  envy  of 
many  Island  mothers. 

Rachael  wrote  by  every  ship,  and  Mary  Fawcett  pon 
dered  over  these  letters,  at  first  with  perplexity,  finally  with 
a  deep  uneasiness.  Her  daughter  described  life  in  Den 
mark,  the  court  and  society,  her  new  gowns  and  jewels, 
her  visits  to  country  houses,  the  celebrities  she  met.  But 
her  letters  were  literary  and  impersonal,  nor  was  there  in 
them  a  trace  of  her  old  energy  of  mind  and  vivacity  of 
spirit.  She  never  mentioned  Levine's  name,  nor  made  an 
intimate  allusion  to  herself. 

"Can  she  no  longer  love  me  ?"  thought  Mary  Fawcett 
at  last  and  in  terror ;  "  this  child  that  I  have  loved  more 
than  the  husband  of  my  youth  and  all  the  other  children  I 
have  borne  ?  It  cannot  be  that  she  is  unhappy.  She 
would  tell  me  so  in  a  wild  outburst  —  indeed  she  would  have 
run  home  to  me  long  since.  Levine  will  never  control  her. 


22  THE   CONQUEROR 

Heaven  knows  what  would  have  happened  if  I  had  not 
gone  on  that  wedding-journey.  But  she  settled  down 
so  sweetly,  and  I  made  sure  she  would  have  loved  him  by 
this.  It  is  the  only  thing  to  do  if  you  have  to  live  with  one 
of  the  pests.  Perhaps  that  is  it  —  she  has  given  him  all  her 
love  and  has  none  left  for  me."  And  at  this  she  felt  so 
lonely  and  bitter  that  she  almost  accepted  Archibald 
Hamn  when  he  called  an  hour  later.  But  in  the  ex 
citement  of  his  risen  hopes  his  wig  fell  on  the  floor, 
and  she  took  offence  at  his  yellow  and  sparsely  settled 
scalp. 

There  were  few  gleams  of  humour  left  in  life  for  Mary 
Fawcett.  Rachael's  letters  ceased  abruptly.  Her  mother 
dared  not  sail  for  Denmark,  lest  she  pass  the  Levines  on 
their  way  to  St.  Croix.  She  managed  to  exist  through  two 
distracted  months,  then  received  a  note  from  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mitchell. 

"Rachael  is  Here,"  it  ran,  "but  refuses  to  see  Us.  I  do 
not  know  what  to  think.  I  drove  over  as  soon  as  I  heard 
of  Their  arrival.  Levine  received  Me  and  was  as  Cour 
teous  and  Polished  as  ever,  but  Rachael  had  a  Headache 
and  did  not  come  out.  Mary  and  I  have  been  there  Twice 
since,  and  with  the  same  result.  Levine  assured  us  that  he 
had  begged  her  to  see  her  Sisters,  but  that  She  is  in  a  very 
low  and  melancholy  state,  owing  doubtless  to  her  Condition. 
He  seemed  much  concerned,  but  More,  I  could  not  help 
thinking,  because  he  feared  to  lose  an  Heir  than  from  any 
love  for  my  little  Sister.  Peter  and  Mary  agree  with  Me, 
that  You  had  best  come  here  if  You  can." 

Mary  Fawcett,  whatever  her  foibles,  had  never  failed  to 
spring  upright  under  the  stiffest  blows  of  her  life.  Ignor 
ing  her  physical  pains,  which  had  been  aggravated  by  the 
mental  terrors  of  the  last  two  months,  and  sternly  com 
manding  the  agony  in  her  heart  to  be  silent,  she  despatched 
a  note  at  once  to  Dr.  Hamilton,  —  Archibald  Hamn  was 
in  Barbados,  —  asking  him  to  charter  a  schooner,  if  no  ship 
were  leaving  that  day  for  the  Danish  Islands,  and  accompany 
her  to  St.  Croix.  He  sent  her  word  that  they  could  sail 
on  the  following  morning  if  the  wind  were  favourable,  and 


RACHAEL  LEVINE  23 

the  black  women  packed  her  boxes  and  carried  them  on 
their  heads  to  Basseterre. 

That  evening,  as  Mary  Fawcett  was  slowly  walking  down 
the  avenue,  leaning  heavily  on  her  cane,  too  wretched  to 
rest  or  sleep,  a  ship  flying  the  German  colours  sailed  past. 
She  wondered  if  it  had  stopped  at  St.  Croix,  then  forgot  it 
in  the  terrible  speculations  which  her  will  strove  to  hold 
apart  from  her  nerves. 

Wearied  in  body,  she  returned  to  the  house  and  sat  by 
the  window  of  her  room,  striving  to  compose  her  mind  for 
sleep.  She  was  forcing  herself  to  jot  down  instructions 
for  her  housekeeper,  whom  she  had  taught  to  read,  when 
she  heard  a  chaise  and  a  pair  of  galloping  horses  enter 
the  avenue.  A  moment  later,  Dr.  Hamilton's  voice  was 
roaring  for  a  slave  to  come  and  hold  his  horses.  Then  it 
lowered  abruptly  and  did  not  cease. 

Mary  Fawcett  knew  that  Rachael  had  come  to  her,  and 
without  her  husband.  For  a  moment  she  had  a  confused 
idea  that  the  earth  was  rocking,  and  congratulated  herself 
that  the  house  was  too  high  for  a  tidal  wave  to  reach. 
Then  Dr.  Hamilton  entered  with  Rachael  in  his  arms  and 
laid  her  on  the  bed.  He  left  at  once,  saying  that  he  would 
return  in  the  morning.  Mary  Fawcett  had  not  risen,  and 
her  chair  faced  the  bed.  Rachael  lay  staring  at  her  mother 
until  Mary  found  her  voice  and  begged  her  to  speak.  She 
knew  that  her  hunger  must  wait  until  she  had  stood  at  the 
bar  and  received  her  sentence. 

Rachael  told  her  mother  the  story  of  her  married  life 
from  the  day  she  had  been  left  alone  with  John  Levine,  —  a 
story  of  unimaginable  horrors.  Like  many  cold  men  to 
whom  the  pleasures  of  the  world  are,  nevertheless,  easy, 
Levine  was  a  voluptuary  and  cruel.  Had  his  child  been 
safely  born,  there  would  have  been  no  measure  in  his  bru 
tality.  Rachael  had  watched  for  her  opportunity,  and  one 
night  when  he  had  been  at  a  state  function  in  Christian- 
stadt,  too  secure  in  her  apparent  apathy  to  lock  her  door, 
she  had  bribed  a  servant  to  drive  her  to  Frederikstadt,  and 
boarded  the  ship  her  maid  had  ascertained  was  about  to 
leave.  She  knew  that  he  would  not  follow  her,  for  there 


24  THE   CONQUEROR 

was  one  person  on  earth  he  feared,  and  that  was  Mary 
Fawcett.  He  would  not  have  returned  to  St.  Croix,  had 
his  investments  been  less  heavy ;  but  on  his  estates  he 
was  lord,  and  had  no  mind  that  his  mother-in-law  should 
set  foot  on  them  while  he  had  slaves  to  hold  his  gates. 

Mary  Fawcett  listened  to  the  horrid  story,  at  first  with  a 
sort  of  frantic  wonder,  for  of  the  evil  of  life  she  had  known 
nothing ;  then  her  clear  mind  grasped  it,  her  stoicism  gave 
way,  and  she  shrieked  and  raved  in  such  agony  of  soul  that 
she  had  no  fear  of  hell  thereafter.  Rachael  had  to  rise 
from  the  bed  and  minister  to  her,  and  the  terrified  blacks 
ran  screaming  about  the  place,  believing  that  their  mistress 
had  been  cursed. 

She  grew  calm  in  time,  but  her  face  was  puckered  like 
an  old  apple,  and  her  eyes  had  lost  their  brilliancy  for 
ever.  And  it  was  days  before  she  realized  that  her  limbs 
still  ached. 

Rachael  never  opened  her  lips  on  the  subject  again.  She 
went  back  to  bed  and  clung  to  her  mother  and  Dr.  Hamil 
ton  until  her  child  was  born.  Then  for  three  months  she 
recognized  no  one,  and  Dr.  Hamilton,  with  all  his  skill, 
did  not  venture  to  say  whether  or  not  her  mind  would  live 
again. 

The  child  was  a  boy,  and  as  blond  as  its  father.  Mary 
Fawcett  stood  its  presence  in  the  house  for  a  month,  then 
packed  it  off  to  St.  Croix.  She  received  a  curt  acknow 
ledgment  from  Levine,  and  an  intimation  that  she  had 
saved  herself  much  trouble.  As  for  Rachael,  he  would 
have  her  back  when  he  saw  fit.  She  wrote  an  appeal  to 
the  Captain-General  and  he  sent  her  word  that  the  Danes 
would  never  bombard  Brimstone  Hill,  and  there  was  no 
other  way  by  which  Levine  could  get  her  daughter  while 
one  of  her  friends  ruled  the  Leeward  Caribbees. 

Many  thoughts  flitted  through  the  brain  of  Mary  Fawcett 
during  that  long  vigil.  Her  mind  for  the  first  time  dwelt 
with  kindness,  almost  with  softness,  on  the  memory  of  her 
husband.  Beside  this  awful  Dane  his  shadow  was  god 
like.  He  had  been  high-minded  and  a  gentleman  in  his 
worst  tantrums,  and  there  was  no  taint  of  viciousness  in 


RACHAEL  LEVIN E  25 

him.  A  doubt  grew  in  her  brain,  grew  to  such  disquieting 
proportions  that  she  sometimes  deserted  Rachael  abruptly 
and  went  out  to  fatigue  herself  in  the  avenue.  Had  she 
done  wrong  to  leave  him  alone  in  his  old  age,  to  bear, 
undiverted,  the  burden  of  a  disease  whose  torments  she  now 
could  fully  appreciate,  to  die  alone  in  that  great  house  with 
only  his  slaves  to  tend  him  ?  It  had  seemed  to  her  when 
she  left  him  that  human  nature  could  stand  no  more,  and 
that  she  was  justified;  but  she  was  an  old  woman  now  and 
knew  that  all  things  can  be  endured.  When  that  picture 
of  his  desolate  last  years  and  lonely  death  had  remorse 
lessly  shaped  itself  in  her  imagination,  and  she  realized 
that  it  would  hang  there  until  her  hands  were  folded,  she 
suffered  one  more  hour  of  agony  and  abasement,  then 
caught  at  the  stoicism  of  her  nature,  accepted  her  new  dole, 
and  returned  to  her  daughter. 

VI 

Rachael's  mind  struggled  past  its  eclipse,  but  her  recov 
ery  was  very  slow.  Even  after  she  recognized  her  mother 
and  Dr.  Hamilton,  she  sat  for  months  staring  at  Nevis, 
neither  opening  a  book  nor  looking  round  upon  the  life 
about  her.  But  she  was  only  eighteen,  and  her  body  grew 
strong  and  vital  again.  Gradually  it  forced  its  energies 
into  her  brain,  released  her  spirit  from  its  apathy,  buried 
memory  under  the  fresher  impressions  of  time.  A  year 
from  the  day  of  her  return,  if  there  were  deep  and  subtle 
changes  in  her  face  and  carriage,  which  added  ten  years  to 
her  appearance,  she  was  more  beautiful  to  experienced  eyes 
than  when  she  had  flowered  for  the  humming-birds.  She 
took  up  her  studies  where  she  had  dropped  them,  a  little  of 
her  old  buoyancy  revived;  and  if  her  girlishness  was  buried 
with  ideals  and  ambitions,  her  intellect  was  clear  and  strong 
and  her  character  more  finely  balanced.  She  flew  into  no 
more  rages,  boxed  her  attendants'  ears  at  rarer  intervals, 
and  the  deliberation  which  had  seemed  an  anomaly  in  her 
character  before,  became  a  dominant  trait,  and  rarely  was 
conquered  by  impulse.  When  it  worked  alone  her  mother 


26  THE   CONQUEROR 

laid  down  her  weapons,  edged  as  they  still  were,  and  when 
impulse  flew  to  its  back,  Mary  Fawcett  took  refuge  in 
oblivion.  But  she  made  no  complaint,  for  she  and  her 
daughter  were  more  united  than  when  the  young  girl  had 
seemed  more  fit  to  be  her  grandchild. 

The  Governor  of  St.  Christopher  had  written  a  letter  to 
his  friend,  the  Governor  of  St.  Croix,  which  had  caused  that 
estimable  functionary  to  forbid  Levine  the  door  of  Gov 
ernment  House.  Levine  could  not  endure  social  ostracism. 
He  left  St.  Croix  immediately,  and  took  his  son  Peter  with 
him.  To  this  child  Rachael  never  referred,  and  her  mother 
doubted  if  she  remembered  anything  associated  with  its  im 
pending  birth.  Perhaps  she  believed  it  dead.  At  all  events, 
she  made  no  sign.  Except  that  she  was  called  Mistress 
Levine,  there  was  nothing  in  her  outer  life  to  remind  her 
that  for  two  years  the  markers  in  her  favourite  books  had 
not  been  shifted.  She  had  studied  music  and  painting  with 
the  best  masters  in  Copenhagen,  and  in  the  chests  which  were 
forwarded  by  her  sisters  from  St.  Croix,  there  were  many 
new  books.  She  refused  to  return  to  society,  and  filled  her 
time  without  its  aid ;  for  not  only  did  she  have  the  ample 
resources  of  her  mind,  her  mother,  the  frequent  compan 
ionship  of  Dr.  Hamilton  and  four  or  five  other  men  of  his 
age  and  attainments,  but  she  returned  to  the  out-door  life 
with  enthusiasm.  On  her  spirit  was  an  immovable  shadow, 
in  her  mind  an  indelible  stain,  but  she  had  strong  common 
sense  and  a  still  stronger  will.  An  experience  which  would 
have  embittered  a  less  complete  nature,  or  sent  a  lighter 
woman  to  the  gallantries  of  society,  gave  new  force  and 
energy  to  her  character,  even  while  saddening  it.  To  the 
past  she  never  willingly  gave  a  thought ;  neither  was  she 
for  a  moment  unconscious  of  its  ghost. 

VII 

Two  years  passed.  Rachael  was  twenty,  a  beautiful  and 
stately  creature,  more  discussed  and  less  seen  than  any 
woman  on  the  islands  of  Nevis  and  St.  Christopher.  Occa 
sionally  Christiana  Huggins  paid  her  a  visit,  or  Catherine 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  27 

Hamilton  rode  over  for  the  day ;  but  although  Christiana 
at  least,  loved  her  to  the  end,  both  were  conscious  of  her 
superiority  of  mind  and  experience,  and  the  old  intimacy 
was  not  resumed. 

Dr.  Hamilton  had  used  all  his  influence  in  the  Council 
to  promote  a  special  bill  of  divorce,  for  he  wanted  Rachael 
to  be  free  to  marry  again.  He  had  no  faith  in  the  perma 
nent  resources  of  the  intellect  for  a  young  and  seductive 
woman,  and  he  understood  Rachael  very  thoroughly.  The 
calm  might  be  long,  but  unless  Levine  died  or  could  be 
legally  disposed  of,  she  would  give  the  Islands  a  heavier 
shock  than  when  the  innovation  of  Mary  Fawcett  had  set 
them  gabbling.  Against  the  conservatism  of  his  colleagues, 
however,  he  could  make  no  headway,  and  both  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Captain-General  disapproved  of  a  measure  which 
England  had  never  sanctioned. 

But  Dr.  Hamilton  and  her  mother  were  more  disturbed 
at  the  failure  of  the  bill  than  Rachael.  Time  had  lifted 
the  shadow  of  her  husband  from  the  race,  but,  never  hav 
ing  loved,  even  a  little,  her  imagination  modelled  no  pleas 
ing  features  upon  the  ugly  skull  of  matrimony.  It  is  true 
that  she  sometimes  thought  of  herself  as  a  singularly  lonely 
being,  and  allowed  her  mind  to  picture  love  and  its  com 
panionships.  As  time  dimmed  another  picture  she  caught 
herself  meditating  upon  woman's  chief  inheritance,  and 
moving  among  the  shadows  of  the  future  toward  that  larger 
and  vitalizing  part  of  herself  which  every  woman  fancies  is 
on  earth  in  search  of  her.  When  she  returned  from  these 
wanderings  she  sternly  reminded  herself  that  her  name 
was  Levine,  and  that  no  woman  after  such  an  escape  had 
the  right  to  expect  more.  She  finally  compelled  herself  to 
admit  that  her  avoidance  of  society  was  due  to  prudence 
as  well  as  to  her  stern  devotion  to  intellect,  then  studied 
harder  than  ever. 

But  it  is  a  poor  fate  that  waits  upon  the  gathering 
together  of  many  people. 


2.B  THE   CONQUEROR 

VIII 

Rachael  was  riding  home  one  afternoon  from  Basse 
terre,  where  she  had  been  purchasing  summer  lawns  and 
cambrics.  It  was  March,  and  the  winter  sun  had  begun  to 
use  its  summer  fuel ;  but  the  trades  blew  softly,  and  there 
was  much  shade  on  the  road  above  the  sea.  There  was 
one  long  stretch,  however,  where  not  a  tree  grew,  and 
Rachael  drew  rein  for  a  moment  before  leaving  the  avenue 
of  tamarinds  which  had  rustled  above  her  head  for  a  mile 
or  more.  Although  it  was  a  hot  scene  that  lay  before  her, 
it  was  that  which,  when  away  from  home,  for  some  reason 
best  known  to  her  memory,  had  always  been  first  to  rise. 
The  wide  pale-gray  road  rose  gradually  for  a  long  distance, 
dipped,  and  rose  again.  On  either  side  were  cane-fields, 
their  tender  greens  sharp  against  the  deep  hard  blue  of 
the  sea  on  the  left,  rising  to  cocoanut  groves  and  the  dark 
heights  of  the  mountains  above  the  road.  Far  away,  close 
to  the  sea,  was  Brimstone  Hill,  that  huge  isolated  rock  so 
near  in  shape  to  the  crater  of  Mount  Misery.  Its  fortifi 
cations  showed  their  teeth  against  the  faded  sky,  and  St. 
Christopher  slept  easily  while  tentative  conquerors  ap 
proached,  looked  hard  at  this  Gibraltar  of  the  West  Indies, 
and  sailed  away. 

But  there  scarcely  was  a  sail  on  the  sea  to-day.  Its  blue 
rose  and  fell,  in  that  vast  unbroken  harmony  which  quick 
ens  the  West  Indian  at  times  into  an  intolerable  sense  of 
his  isolation.  Rachael  recalled  how  she  had  stared  at  it  in 
childish  resentment,  wondering  if  a  mainland  really  lay  be 
yond,  if  Europe  were  a  myth.  She  did  not  care  if  she  never 
set  foot  on  a  ship  again,  and  her  ambitions  were  in  the 
grave  with  her  desire  for  a  wealthy  and  intellectual  husband. 

On  the  long  road,  rising  gray  and  hot  between  the  bright 
green  cane-fields,  horsemen  approached,  and  a  number  of 
slave  women  moved  slowly  :  women  with  erect  rigid  backs 
balancing  large  baskets  or  stacks  of  cane  on  their  heads, 
the  body  below  the  waist  revolving  with  a  pivotal  motion 
which  suggests  an  anatomy  peculiar  to  the  tropics.  They 
had  a  dash  of  red  about  them  somewhere,  and  their  turbans 


RACHAEL  LEVINE  29 

were  white.  Rachael's  imagination  never  gave  her  St. 
Kitts  without  its  slave  women,  the  "  pic'nees  "  clinging  to 
their  hips  as  they  bore  their  burdens  on  the  road  or  bent 
over  the  stones  in  the  river.  They  belonged  to  its  land 
scape,  with  the  palms  and  the  cane-fields,  the  hot  gray 
roads,  and  the  great  jewel  of  the  sea. 

Rachael  left  the  avenue  and  rode  onward.  One  of  the 
horsemen  took  off  his  Spanish  sombrero  and  waved  it. 
She  recognized  Dr.  Hamilton  and  shook  her  whip  at  him. 
He  and  his  companion  spurred  their  horses,  and  a  moment 
later  Rachael  and  James  Hamilton  had  met. 

"  An  unexpected  pleasure  for  me,  this  sudden  descent  of 
my  young  kinsman,"  said  the  doctor,  "but  a  great  one,  for 
he  brings  me  news  of  all  in  Scotland,  and  he  saw  Will  the 
day  before  he  sailed." 

"  It  is  too  hot  to  stand  here  talking,"  said  Rachael. 
"  Come  home  with  me  to  a  glass  of  Spanish  port,  and  cake 
perhaps." 

The  doctor  was  on  his  way  to  a  consultation,  but  he  or 
dered  his  relative  to  go  and  pay  his  respects  to  Mistress 
Fawcett,  and  rode  on  whistling.  The  two  he  had  recklessly 
left  to  their  own  devices  exchanged  platitudes,  and  covertly 
examined  each  other  with  quick  admiration. 

There  are  dark  Scots,  and  Hamilton  was  one  of  them. 
Although  tall  and  slight,  he  was  knit  with  a  close  and  pe 
culiar  elegance,  which  made  him  look  his  best  on  a  horse 
and  in  white  linen.  His  face  was  burnt  to  the  hue  of  brick- 
dust  by  the  first  quick  assault  of  the  tropic  sun,  but  it  was 
a  thin  face,  well  shaped,  in  spite  of  prominent  cheek  bones, 
and  set  with  the  features  of  long  breeding;  and  it  was  mobile, 
fiery,  impetuous,  and  very  intelligent :  ancestral  coarseness 
had  been  polished  fine  long  since. 

They  left  the  road  and  mounted  toward  the  dark  avenue 
of  the  Fawcett  estate,  Rachael  wondering  if  her  mother 
would  be  irritated  at  the  informality  of  the  stranger's  first 
call ;  he  should  have  arrived  in  state  with  Dr.  Hamilton  at 
the  hour  of  five.  Perhaps  it  was  to  postpone  the  moment 
of  explanation  that  she  permitted  her  horse  to  walk,  even 
after  they  had  reached  the  level  of  the  avenue,  and  finally 


3o  THE   CONQUEROR 

to  crop  the  grass  while  she  and  Hamilton  dismounted  and 
sat  down  in  a  heavy  grove  of  tamarinds  on  the  slope  of 
the  hill. 

"  I'm  just  twenty-one  and  have  my  own  way  to  make," 
he  was  telling  her.  "  There  are  three  before  me,  so  I 
couldn't  afford  the  army,  and  as  I've  a  fancy  for  foreign 
lands,  I've  come  out  here  to  be  a  merchant.  I  have  so  many 
kinsmen  in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  they've  all  succeeded 
so  well,  I  thought  they'd  be  able  to  advise  me  how  best  to 
turn  over  the  few  guineas  I  have.  My  cousin,  the  doctor, 
has  taken  me  in  hand,  and  if  I  have  any  business  capacity 
I  shall  soon  find  it  out.  But  I  ached  for  the  army,  and 
failing  that,  I'd  have  liked  being  a  scholar  —  as  I  know 
you  are,  by  your  eyes." 

His  Scotch  accent  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  West 
Indians,  particularly  of  the  Barbadians ;  but  his  voice, 
although  it  retained  the  huskiness  of  the  wet  North,  had, 
somewhere  in  its  depths,  a  peculiar  metallic  quality  which 
startled  Rachael  every  time  it  rang  out,  and  was  the  last  of 
all  memories  to  linger,  when  memories  were  crumbling  in 
a  brain  that  could  stand  no  more. 

How  it  happened,  Rachael  spent  the  saner  hours  of  the 
morrow  attempting  to  explain,  but  they  sat  under  the 
tamarinds  until  the  sun  went  down,  and  Nevis  began  to 
robe  for  the  night.  Once  they  paused  in  their  desultory 
talk  and  listened  to  the  lovely  chorus  of  a  West  Indian 
evening,  that  low  incessant  ringing  of  a  million  tiny  bells. 
The  bells  hung  in  the  throats  of  nothing  more  picturesque 
than  grasshoppers,  serpents,  lizards,  and  frogs  so  small  as 
to  be  almost  invisible,  but  they  rang  with  a  harmony  that 
the  inherited  practice  of  centuries  had  given  them.  And 
beyond  was  the  monotonous  accompaniment  of  the  sea  on 
the  rocks.  Hamilton  lived  to  be  an  old  man,  and  he  never 
left  the  West  Indies;  but  sometimes,  at  long  and  longer  in 
tervals,  he  found  himself  listening  to  that  Lilliputian  orches 
tra,  his  attention  attracted  to  it,  possibly,  by  a  stranger; 
and  then  he  remembered  this  night,  and  the  woman  for 
whom  he  would  have  sacrificed  earth  and  immortality  had 
he  been  lord  of  them. 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  31 

Heaven  knows  what  they  talked  about.  While  it  was 
light  they  stared  out  at  the  blue  sea  or  down  on  the  rippling 
cane-fields,  not  daring  to  exchange  more  than  a  casual  and 
hasty  glance.  Both  knew  that  they  should  have  separated 
the  moment  they  met,  but  neither  had  the  impulse  nor  the 
intention  to  leave  the  shade  of  the  wood ;  and  when  the 
brief  twilight  fell  and  the  moon  rose,  there  still  was  Nevis, 
and  after  her  the  many  craft  to  divert  their  gaze.  Hamil 
ton  was  honourable  and  shy,  and  Rachael  was  a  woman  of 
uncommon  strength  of  character  and  had  been  brought  up 
by  a  woman  of  austere  virtue.  These  causes  held  them 
apart  for  a  time,  but  one  might  as  well  have  attempted  to 
block  two  comets  rushing  at  each  other  in  the  same  orbit. 
The  magnetism  of  the  Inevitable  embraced  them  and  knit 
their  inner  selves  together,  even  while  they  sat  decorously 
apart.  Rachael  had  taken  off  her  hat  at  once,  and  even 
after  it  grew  dark  in  their  arbour,  Hamilton  fancied  he 
could  see  the  gleam  of  her  hair.  Her  eyes  were  startled 
and  brilliant,  and  her  nostrils  quivered  uneasily,  but  she 
defined  none  of  the  sensations  that  possessed  her  but  the 
overwhelming  recrudescence  of  her  youth.  It  had  seemed 
to  her  that  it  flamed  from  its  ashes  before  Dr.  Hamilton 
finished  his  formal  words  of  introduction,  and  all  its  for 
gotten  hopes  and  impulses,  timidity  and  vagueness,  surged 
through  her  brain  during  those  hours  beside  the  stranger, 
submerging  the  memory  of  Levine.  Indeed,  she  felt  even 
younger  than  before  maturity  so  suddenly  had  been  thrust 
upon  her ;  for  in  those  old  days  she  had  been  almost  as 
severely  intellectual  as  yesterday,  and  when  she  had 
dreamed  of  the  future,  it  had  been  with  the  soberness  of  an 
overtaxed  brain.  But  to-day  even  the  world  seemed  young 
again.  She  fancied  she  could  hear  the  unquiet  pulses  of 
the  Island,  so  long  grown  old,  and  Nevis  had  never  looked 
so  fair.  She  hardly  was  conscious  of  her  womanhood,  only 
of  that  possessing  sense  of  happiness  in  youth.  As  for 
Hamilton,  he  had  never  felt  otherwise  than  young,  although 
he  was  a  college-bred  man,  something  of  a  scholar,  and  he 
had  seen  more  or  less  of  the  world  since  his  boyhood.  But 
the  intensity  and  ardour  of  his  nature  had  received  no 


-32  THE   CONQUEROR 

-check,  neither  were  they  halfway  on  their  course ;  and  he 
had  never  loved.  It  had  seemed  to  him  that  the  Island 
opened  and  a  witch  came  out,  and  in  those  confused  hours 
he  hardly  knew  whether  she  were  good  or  bad,  his  ideal 
woman  or  his  ideal  devil ;  but  he  loved  her.  He  was 
as  pale  as  his  sunburn  would  permit  him  to  be,  and  his 
hands  were  clasped  tightly  about  his  knees,  when  relief 
came  in  the  shape  of  Mary  Fawcett. 

Her  daughter's  horse  had  gone  home  and  taken  the 
•stranger  with  him,  and  Mistress  Fawcett,  with  quick  sus 
picion,  new  as  it  was,  started  at  once  down  the  avenue. 
Rachael  heard  the  familiar  tapping  of  her  mother's  stick, 
hastily  adjusted  her  hat,  and  managed  to  reach  the  road 
with  Hamilton  before  her  mother  turned  its  bend. 

Mary  Fawcett  understood  and  shivered  with  terror.  She 
was  far  from  being  her  imperious  self  as  her  daughter  pre 
sented  the  stranger  and  remarked  that  he  was  a  cousin  of 
Dr.  Hamilton,  characteristically  refraining  from  apology 
or  explanation. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "the  doctor  will  doubtless  bring  you 
to  call  some  day.  I  will  send  your  horse  to  you.  Say 
good  evening  to  the  stranger,  Rachael,  and  come  home." 
She  was  one  of  the  most  hospitable  women  in  the  Carib- 
bees,  and  this  was  the  kinsman  of  her  best  friend,  but  she 
longed  for  power  to  exile  him  out  of  St.  Kitts  that  night. 

Hamilton  lifted  his  hat,  and  Rachael  followed  her  mother. 
She  was  cold  and  frightened,  and  Levine's  white  malignant 

O  *  O 

face  circled  about  her. 

Her  mother  requested  her  support,  and  she  almost  car 
ried  the  light  figure  to  the  house.  Mistress  Fawcett  sent 
a  slave  after  Hamilton's  horse,  then  went  to  her  room  and 
wrote  a  note  to  Dr.  Hamilton,  asking  him  to  call  on  the 
following  day  and  to  come  alone.  The  two  women  did  not 
meet  again  that  night. 

But  there  is  little  privacy  in  the  houses  of  St.  Kitts  and 
Nevis.  Either  the  upper  part  of  almost  every  room  is 
built  of  ornamental  lattice-work,  or  the  walls  are  set  with 
numerous  jalousies,  that  can  be  closed  when  a  draught  is 
undesirable  but  conduct  the  slightest  sound.  Rachael's 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  33 

room  adjoined  her  mother's.  She  knew  that  the  older 
woman  was  as  uneasily  awake  as  herself,  though  from  vastly 
different  manifestations  of  the  same  cause.  At  four  o'clock, 
when  the  guinea  fowl  were  screeching  like  demons,  and  had 
awakened  the  roosters  and  the  dogs  to  swell  the  infernal 
chorus  of  a  West  Indian  morning,  Rachael  sat  up  in  bed  and 
laughed  noiselessly. 

"What  a  night!  "  she  thought.  "And  for  what?  A 
man  who  companioned  me  for  four  hours  as  no  other  man 
had  ever  done  ?  and  who  made  me  feel  as  if  the  world  had 
turned  to  fire  and  light  ?  It  may  have  been  but  a  mood  of 
my  own,  it  is  so  long  since  I  have  talked  with  a  man  near 
to  my  own  age  —  and  he  is  so  near !  —  and  yet  so  real  a 
man.  .  .  .  No  one  could  call  him  handsome,  for  he  looks 
like  a  flayed  Carib,  and  I  have  met  some  of  the  handsomest 
men  in  Europe  and  not  given  them  a  thought.  Yet  this 
man  kept  me  beside  him  for  four  hours,  and  has  me  awake 
a  whole  night  because  he  is  not  with  me.  Has  the  disci 
pline  of  these  last  years,  then,  gone  for  nothing  ?  Am  I  but 
an  excitable  West  Indian  after  all,  and  shall  I  have  corded 
hands  before  I  am  twenty-five  ?  It  was  a  mistake  to  shut 
myself  away  from  danger.  Had  I  been  constantly  meeting 
the  young  men  of  the  Island  and  all  strangers  who  have  come 
here  during  the  last  two  years,  I  should  not  be  wild  for  this 
one  —  even  if  he  has  something  in  him  unlike  other  men  — 
and  lie  awake  all  night  like  the  silly  women  who  dream 
everlastingly  of  the  lover  to  come.  I  am  a  fool." 

She  lit  her  candle  and  went  into  her  mother's  room. 
Mary  Fawcett  was  sitting  up  in  bed,  her  white  hair  hang 
ing  out  of  her  nightcap.  It  seemed  to  her  that  the  end  of 
the  world  had  come,  and  she  cursed  human  nature  and  the 
governors  of  the  Island. 

"  1  know  what  has  kept  you  awake,"  said  Rachael,  "  but 
do  not  fear.  It  was  but  a  passing  madness  —  God  smite 
those  guinea  fowl !  I  have  lived  the  life  of  a  nun,  and  it  is 
an  unnatural  life  for  a  young  woman.  Yesterday  I  learned 
that  I  have  not  the  temperament  of  the  scholar,  the  recluse 
—  that  is  all.  I  should  have  guessed  it  sooner  —  then  I 
should  not  have  been  fascinated  by  this  brilliant  Scot. 

A 


34  THE   CONQUEROR 

It  was  my  mind  that  flew  eagerly  to  companionship 
—  that  was  all.  The  hours  were  pleasant.  I  would  not 
regret  them  but  for  the  deep  uneasiness  they  have  caused 
you.  To-day  I  shall  enter  the  world  again.  There  are 
many  clever  and  accomplished  young  men  on  St.  Kitts.  I 
will  meet  and  talk  to  them  all.  We  will  entertain  them 
here.  There  is  a  ball  at  Government  House  to-night, 
another  at  Mistress  Irwin's  on  Wednesday  week.  I  prom 
ise  you  that  I  will  be  as  gay  and  as  universal  as  a  girl  in 
her  first  season,  and  this  man  shall  see  no  more  of  me  than 
any  other  man." 

Her  mother  watched  her  keenly  as  she  delivered  her  long 
tirade.  Her  face  was  deeply  flushed.  The  arm  that  held 
the  candle  was  tense,  and  her  hair  fell  about  her  splendid 
form  like  a  cloud  of  light.  Had  Hamilton  seen  anything 
so  fair  in  Europe  ?  What  part  would  he  play  in  this  scheme 
of  catholicity  ? 

"  You  will  meet  this  man  if  you  go  abroad,"  she  replied. 
"Better  stay  here  and  forbid  him  the  gates." 

"  And  think  about  him  till  I  leap  on  my  horse  and  ride 
to  meet  him  ?  A  fevered  imagination  will  make  a  god  of 
a  Tom  Noddy.  If  I  see  him  daily  —  with  others — he 
will  seem  as  commonplace  as  all  men." 

Mary  Fawcett  did  not  speak  for  some  moments.  Then 
she  said :  "  Hark  ye,  Rachael.  I  interfered  once  and 
brought  such  damnable  misery  upon  you  that  I  dare  not  — 
almost  —  (she  remembered  her  note  to  Dr.  Hamilton) 
interfere  again.  This  time  you  shall  use  your  own  judge 
ment,  something  you  have  taught  me  to  respect.  Whatever 
the  result,  I  will  be  to  the  end  what  I  always  have  been,  the 
best  friend  you  have.  You  are  very  strong.  You  have  had 
an  awful  experience,  and  it  has  made  a  woman  of  thirty  of 
you.  You  are  no  silly  little  fool,  rushing  blindly  into  the 
arms  of  the  first  man  whose  eyes  are  black  enough.  You 
have  been  brought  up  to  look  upon  light  women  with 
horror.  In  your  darkest  days  you  never  sought  to  console 
yourself  as  weaker  women  do.  Therefore,  in  spite  of  what 
I  saw  in  both  your  faces  yesterday,  I  hope." 

"Yes  —  and  give  yourself  no  more  uneasiness.     Could/ 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  35 

look  upon  the  love  of  man  with  favour  ?  Not  unless  I 
were  to  be  born  again,  and  my  memory  as  dead  as  my 
body." 

"If  you  love,  you  will  be  born  again;  and  if  this  man 
overmasters  your  imagination,  your  memory  might  quite  as 
well  be  dead.  One  of  the  three  or  four  things  in  my  life 
that  I  have  to  be  thankful  for  is  that  I  never  had  to  pass 
through  that  ordeal.  You  are  far  dearer  to  me  than  I  ever 
was  to  myself,  and  if  you  are  called  upon  to  go  through 
that  wretched  experience,  whose  consequences  never  finish, 
and  I  with  so  little  time  left  in  which  to  stand  by  and  pro 
tect  you — "  She  changed  abruptly.  "Promise  me  that 
you  will  do  nothing  unconsidered,  that  you  will  not  behave 
like  the  ordinary  Francesca  —  for  whom  I  have  always  had 
the  most  unmitigated  contempt.  The  hour.  The  man. 
The  fall.  The  wail :  '  The  earth  rocked,  the  stars  fell.  I 
knew  not  what  I  did  ! '  You  have  deliberation  and  judge 
ment.  Use  them  now  —  and  do  not  ramble  alone  in  the 
gorge  with  this  handsome  Scot  —  for  he  is  a  fine  man;  I 
would  I  could  deny  it.  I  felt  his  charm,  although  he  did 
not  open  his  mouth." 

Rachael's  eyes  flashed.  "Ah!  did  you? "she  cried. 
"  Well,  but  what  of  that  ?  Are  not  our  Creoles  a  handsome 
race,  and  have  not  all  but  a  few  been  educated  in  England  ? 
Yes,  I  will  promise  you  —  if  you  think  all  this  is  serious 
enough  to  require  a  promise." 

"  But  you  care  so  little  for  the  world.  You  would  be 
sacrificing  so  much  less  than  other  women  —  nevertheless 
it  would  make  you  wretched  and  humiliate  just  as  much; 
do  not  forget  that.  I  almost  am  tempted  to  wish  that  you 
had  a  lighter  nature  —  that  you  would  flirt  with  love  and 
brush  it  away,  while  the  world  was  merely  amused  at  a 
suspected  gallantry.  But  you  —  you  would  love  for  a  life 
time,  and  you  would  end  by  living  with  him  openly.  There 
is  no  compromise  in  you." 

"  Surely  we  have  become  more  serious  than  an  after 
noon's  talk  with  an  interesting  stranger  should  warrant.  I 
am  full  of  a  sudden  longing  for  the  world,  and  who  knows 
but  I  shall  become  so  wedded  to  it  that  I  would  yield  it  for 


36  THE    CONQUEROR 

no  man  ?  Besides,  do  I  not  live  to  make  you  happy,  to 
reward  as  best  I  can  your  unselfish  devotion  ?  If  ever  I 
could  love  any  man  more  than  I  love  you,  then  that  love 
would  be  overwhelming  indeed.  But  although  I  can 
imagine  myself  forgetting  the  world  in  such  a  love,  I  can 
not  picture  you  on  the  sacrificial  altar." 

IX 

Rachael  was  asleep  when  Dr.  Hamilton  called.  Mistress 
Fawcett  received  him  in  the  library,  which  was  at  the  ex 
treme  end  of  the  long  house.  He  laughed  so  heartily  at 
her  fears  that  he  almost  dispelled  them.  Whatever  he  an 
ticipated  in  Rachael's  future,  he  had  no  mind  to  apprehend 
danger  in  every  man  who  interested  her. 

"For  God's  sake,  Mary,"  he  exclaimed,  "let  the  girl 
have  a  flirtation  without  making  a  tragedy  of  it.  She  is 
quite  right.  The  world  is  what  she  wants.  If  ever  there 
was  a  woman  whom  Nature  did  not  intend  for  a  nun  it  is 
Rachael  Levine.  Let  her  carry  out  her  plan,  and  in  a 
week  she  will  be  the  belle  of  the  Island,  and  my  poor 
cousin  will  be  consoling  himself  with  some  indignant  beauty 
only  a  shade  less  fair.  I'll  engage  to  marry  him  off  at 
once,  if  that  will  bring  sleep  to  your  pillow,  but  I  can't 
send  him  away  as  you  propose.  I  am  not  King  George, 
nor  yet  the  Captain-General.  Nor  have  I  any  argument 
by  which  to  persuade  him  to  go.  I  have  given  him  too 
much  encouragement  to  stay.  I'll  keep  him  away  from 
routs  as  long  as  I  can  —  but  remember  that  he  is  young, 
uncommonly  good-looking,  and  a  stranger :  the  girls  will 
not  let  me  keep  him  in  hiding  for  long.  Now  let  the  girl 
alone.  Let  her  think  you've  forgotten  my  new  kinsman 
and  your  fears.  I  don't  know  any  way  to  manage  women 
but  to  let  them  manage  themselves.  Bob  Edwards  failed 
with  Catherine.  I  have  succeeded.  Take  a  leaf  out  of  my 
book.  Rachael  is  not  going  through  life  without  a  stupen 
dous  love  affair.  She  was  marked  out  for  it,  specially 
moulded  and  equipped  by  old  Mother  Nature.  Resign 
yourself  to  it,  and  go  out  and  put  up  your  hands  against 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  37 

the  next  tidal  wave  if  you  want  an  illustration  of  what 
interference  with  Rachael  would  amount  to.  I  wish  Levine 
would  die,  or  we  could  get  a  divorce  law  through  on  this 
Island.  But  the  entire  Council  falls  on  the  table  with 
horror  every  time  I  suggest  it.  Don't  worry  till  the  time 
comes.  I'll  fill  my  house  with  all  the  pretty  girls  on  St. 
Kitts  and  Nevis,  and  marry  this  hero  of  romance  as  soon 
as  I  can." 

Rachael  went  to  the  ball  at  Government  House  that 
night,  glittering  in  a  gown  of  brocade  she  had  worn  at  the 
court  of  Denmark :  Levine  had  sent  her  trunks  to  Peter 
Lytton's,  but  not  her  jewels.  She  was  the  most  splendid 
creature  in  the  rooms,  and  there  was  no  talk  of  anyone 
else.  But  before  the  night  was  a  third  over  she  realized 
that  the  attention  she  would  receive  during  this  her  second 
dazzling  descent  upon  society  would  differ  widely  from  her 
first.  The  young  men  bowed  before  her  in  deep  appre 
ciation  of  her  beauty,  then  passed  on  to  the  girls  of  that 
light-hearted  band  to  which  she  no  longer  belonged.  She 
was  a  woman  with  a  tragic  history  and  a  living  husband ; 
she  had  a  reputation  for  severe  intellectuality,  and  her  eyes, 
the  very  carriage  of  her  body,  expressed  a  stern  aloofness 
from  the  small  and  common  exteriorities  of  life.  The  Gov 
ernor,  the  members  of  Council,  of  the  Assembly,  of  the 
bench  and  bar,  and  the  clergy,  flocked  about  her,  delighted 
at  her  return  to  the  world,  but  she  was  the  belle  of  the 
matrons,  and  not  a  young  man  asked  her  to  dance. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  when  she  saw  how  it  was 
to  be. 

"  Can  they  guess  that  I  am  younger  than  they  are  ? " 
she  thought.  "  And  would  I  have  them  ?  Would  I  share 
that  secret  with  any  in  the  world  —  but  one  ?  Do  I  want 
to  dance  —  to  dance  —  Good  God  !  And  talk  nonsense 
and  the  gossip  of  the  Island  with  these  youths  when  I  have 
naught  to  say  but  that  my  soul  has  grown  wings  and  that 
the  cold  lamp  in  my  breast  has  blown  out,  and  lit  again 
with  the  flame  that  keeps  the  world  alive  ?  Even  if  I 
think  it  best  never  to  see  him  again,  he  has  given  me  that, 
and  I  am  young  at  last.  " 


38  THE   CONQUEROR 

When  she  returned  home,  as  the  guinea  fowl  were  at  their 
raucous  matins,  she  was  able  to  tell  her  mother  that  the 
Scot  had  not  attended  the  ball,  and  Mary  Fawcett  knew 
that  Dr.  Hamilton  had  managed  to  detain  him. 

But  a  fortnight  later  they  met  again  at  the  house  of  Dr. 
George  Irwin,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Hamiltons. 

The  Irwin's  house  in  Basseterre  was  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Park,  which  was  surrounded  by  other  fine  dwellings 
and  several  public  buildings.  The  broad  verandahs  almost 
overhung  the  enclosure,  with  its  great  banyan  tree,  the 
royal  palms  about  the  fountain,  the  close  avenues,  the 
flaming  hedges  of  croton  and  hybiscus,  and  the  traveller's 
palm  and  tree  ferns  brought  from  the  mountains.  When 
a  ball  was  given  at  one  of  the  houses  about  this  Park  on  a 
moonlight  night,  there  was  much  scheming  to  avoid  the 
watchful  eyes  of  lawful  guardians. 

It  was  inevitable  that  Hamilton  should  attend  this  ball, 
for  the  Irwins  and  his  relatives  were  in  and  out  of  each 
other's  houses  all  day  and  half  the  night.  By  this  time, 
however,  he  had  met  nearly  every  girl  on  St.  Kitts,  and  his 
cousin  had  ridden  out  that  afternoon  to  assure  Mistress 
Fawcett  that  the  danger  weakened  daily. 

But  for  an  hour,  he  did  not  leave  Rachael's  side  that 
night.  The  beauties  of  St.  Christopher  —  and  they  were 
many,  with  their  porcelain-like  complexions  and  distin 
guished  features — went  through  all  their  graceful  Creole 
paces  in  vain.  That  he  was  recklessly  in  love  with  Rachael 
Levine  was  manifest  to  all  who  chose  to  look,  and  as  un 
daunted  by  her  intellect  and  history  as  any  man  of  his 
cousin's  mature  coterie.  As  for  Rachael,  although  she  dis 
tributed  her  favours  impartially  for  a  while,  her  mobile  face 
betrayed  to  Dr.  Hamilton  that  mind  and  body  were  steeped  in 
that  tremulous  content  which  possesses  a  woman  when  close 
to  an  undeclared  lover  in  a  public  place  ;  the  man,  and  Life 
and  her  own  emotions  unmortalized,  the  very  future  bounded 
by  the  gala  walls,  the  music,  the  lights,  and  the  perfume  of 
flowers.  These  walls  were  hung  with  branches  of  orange 
trees  loaded  with  fruit,  and  with  ferns  and  orchids  brought 
fresh  from  the  mountains.  A  band  of  blacks  played  on 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  39 

their  native  instruments  the  fashionable  dances  of  the  day 
with  a  weird  and  barbaric  effect,  and  occasionally  sang  a 
wailing  accompaniment  in  voices  of  indescribable  softness. 
There  was  light  from  fifty  candles,  and  the  eternal  breeze 
lifted  and  dispersed  the  heavy  perfume  of  the  flowers.  Ham 
ilton  had  been  in  many  ball-rooms,  but  never  in  one  like  this. 
He  abstained  from  the  madeiras  and  ports  which  were 
passed  about  at  brief  intervals  by  the  swinging  coloured 
women  in  their  gay  frocks  and  white  turbans  ;  but  he  was  in 
toxicated,  nevertheless,  and  more  than  once  on  the  point  of 
leaving  the  house.  The  unreality  of  it  all  held  him  more 
than  weakness,  for  in  some  things  James  Hamilton  was 
strong  enough.  The  weakness  in  him  was  down  at  the 
roots  of  his  character,  and  he  was  neither  a  feathercock 
nor  a  flasher.  He  had  no  intention  of  making  love  to 
Rachael  until  he  saw  his  future  more  clearly  than  he  did 
to-night.  During  the  fortnight  that  had  passed  since  he 
met  her,  he  had  thought  of  little  else,  and  to-night  he  wanted 
nothing  else,  but  impulsive  and  passionate  as  he  was,  he 
came  of  a  race  of  hard-headed  Scots.  He  had  no  mind 
for  a  love  affair  of  tragic  seriousness,  even  while  his  quick 
ened  imagination  pictured  the  end. 

He  deliberately  left  her  side  after  a  time  and  joined  a 
group  of  men  who  were  smoking  in  the  court.  After  an 
hour  of  politics  his  brain  had  less  blood  in  it,  and  when  he 
found  himself  standing  beside  Rachael  on  the  verandah  he 
suggested  that  they  follow  other  guests  into  the  Park. 
He  gave  Rachael  his  arm  in  the  courtly  fashion  of  the  day, 
and  they  walked  about  the  open  paths  and  talked  of  the 
negroes  singing  in  the  cane-fields,  and  the  squalid  poverty 
of  the  North,  as  if  their  hearts  were  as  calm  as  they  are  to 
day.  People  turned  often  to  look  at  them,  commenting 
according  to  the  mixing  of  their  essences,  but  all  concurring 
in  praise  of  so  much  beauty.  Hamilton's  sunburn  had 
passed  the  acute  stage,  leaving  him  merely  brown,  and  his 
black  silk  small  clothes  and  lace  ruffles,  his  white  silk  stock 
ings  and  pumps,  were  vastly  becoming.  His  hair,  lightly 
powdered,  was  tied  with  a  white  ribbon,  but  although  he 
carried  himself  proudly,  there  was  no  manifest  in  his  bear- 


40  THE   CONQUEROR 

ing  that  the  vanities  consumed  much  of  his  thought.  He 
was  gallanted  like  a  young  blood  of  the  period,  and  so  were 
the  young  men  of  St.  Kitts.  Rachael  wore  a  heavy  gold- 
coloured  satin,  baring  the  neck,  and  a  'stiff  and  pointed 
stomacher,  her  hair  held  high  with  a  diamond  comb.  Her 
fairness  was  dazzling  in  the  night-light,  and  it  was  such  a 
light  as  Hamilton  never  had  seen  before  :  for  in  the  Tropics 
the  moon  is  golden,  and  the  stars  are  crystal.  The  palm 
leaves,  high  on  their  slender  shafts,  glittered  like  polished 
dark-green  metal,  and  the  downpour  was  so  dazzling  that 
more  than  once  the  stranger  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  soft  babble  of  many  voices,  the 
silence  would  have  been  intense,  until  the  ear  was  tuned 
to  the  low  tinkle  of  the  night  bells,  for  the  sea  was  calm. 

Once,  as  if  in  explanation  for  words  unspoken,  he  com 
mented  nervously  on  the  sensation  of  unreality  with  which 
these  tropic  scenes  inspired  him,  and  Rachael,  who  longed 
to  withdraw  her  hand  from  his  arm,  told  htm  of  an  enter 
tainment  peculiar  to  the  Islands,  a  torchlight  hunt  for  land- 
crabs,  which  once  a  year  travel  down  from  the  mountains 
to  the  sea,  to  bathe  and  shed  their  shells.  Words  hastened. 
Before  she  drew  breath  she  had  arranged  a  hunt  for  the 
night  of  the  loth  of  April,  and  received  his  promise  to  be 
one  of  her  guests.  They  were  not  so  happy  as  they  had 
been  within  doors,  for  the  world  seemed  wider.  But  their 
inner  selves  pressed  so  hard  toward  each  other  that  finally 
they  were  driven  to  certain  egotisms  as  a  relief. 

"  I  think  little  of  the  future,"  she  said,  after  a  direct 
question,  "  for  that  means  looking  beyond  my  mother's  death, 
and  that  is  the  one  fact  I  have  not  the  courage  to  face. 
But  of  course  I  know  that  it  holds  nothing  for  me.  A  ball 
occasionally,  and  the  conversation  of  clever  men  who  admire 
me  but  care  for  some  one  else,  books  the  rest  of  the  week, 
and  life  alone  on  a  shelf  of  the  mountain.  The  thought 
that  I  shall  one  day  be  old  does  not  console  me  as  it  may 
console  men,  for  with  women  the  heart  never  grows  old. 
The  body  withers,  and  the  heart  in  its  awful  eternal  youth 
has  the  less  to  separate  and  protect  it  from  the  world  that 
has  no  use  for  it.  Then  the  body  dies  and  is  put  away, 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  41 

but  the  heart  is  greedily  consumed  to  feed  the  great  pulses 
of  the  world  that  lives  faster  every  year.  We  give,  and 
give,  and  give." 

"And  are  only  happy  in  giving,"  said  Hamilton,  quickly. 
"  But  if  men  preserve  the  balance  of  the  world  by  taking 
all  that  women  give  them,  at  least  the  best  of  us  find  our 
happiness  in  the  gifts  of  one  woman,  and  a  woman  so  be 
sought  dare  not  assert  that  her  heart  is  empty.  I  under 
stand —  and  no  one  more  clearly  than  I  do  to-night  —  that  if 
she  give  too  much,  she  may  curse  her  heart  and  look  out 
bitterly  upon  the  manifold  interests  that  could  suppress  it 
for  weeks  and  months  —  if  life  were  full  enough.  Is  yours  ? 
What  would  you  sacrifice  if  you  came  to  me  ?  " 

He  asked  the  question  calmly,  for  there  were  people  on 
every  side  of  them,  but  he  asked  it  on  an  uncontrollable 
impulse,  nevertheless  ;  he  had  vowed  to  himself  that  he 
would  wait  a  month. 

His  natural  repose  was  greater  than  hers,  for  she  had 
the  excitable  nerves  of  the  Tropics.  He  felt  her  arm 
quiver  before  she  dropped  her  hand  from  his  arm.  But 
she  replied  almost  as  calmly:  "Nothing  after  my  mother's 
death.  Absolutely  nothing.  When  a  woman  suffers  as  I 
have  done,  and  her  future  is  ruined  in  any  case,  the  world 
counts  for  very  little  with  her,  unless  it  always  has  counted 
for  more  than  anything  else.  We  grow  the  more  cynical 
and  contemptuous  as  we  witness  the  foolish  gallantries  of 
women  who  have  so  much  to  lose.  I  am  not  hard.  I  am 
very  soft  about  many  things,  and  since  you  came  I  am 
become  the  very  tragedy  of  youth  ;  but  I  have  no  respect 
for  the  world  as  I  have  seen  it.  For  many  people  in  the 
world  I  have  a  great  deal,  but  not  for  the  substance  out  of 
which  Society  has  built  itself.  One  never  loses  one's  real 
friends,  no  matter  what  one  does.  Every  circumstance  of 
my  life  has  isolated  me  from  this  structure  called  society, 
forced  me  to  make  my  own  laws.  I  may  never  be  happy, 
because  my  capacity  for  happiness  is  too  great,  but  in  my 
own  case  there  is  no  alternative  worth  considering.  This  is 
the  substance  of  what  I  have  thought  since  we  met,  but  you 
are  not  to  speak  to  me  of  it  again  while  my  mother  lives." 


42  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  I  do  not  promise  you  that  —  but  this :  that  I  will  do 
much  thinking  before  I  speak  again." 

X 

But  although  they  parted  with  formal  courtesy,  it  was 
several  nights  before  either  slept.  Rachael  went  home  to 
her  bed  and  lay  down,  because  she  feared  to  agitate  her 
mother,  but  her  disposition  was  to  go  out  and  walk  the 
circuit  of  the  Island,  and  she  rose  as  soon  as  she  dared, 
and  climbed  to  the  highest  crest  behind  the  house.  It  was 
cold  there,  and  the  wind  was  keen.  She  sat  for  hours  and 
stared  out  at  Nevis,  who  was  rolling  up  her  mists,  indifferent 
to  the  torment  of  mortals. 

During  the  past  fortnight  she  had  conceived  a  certain 
stern  calm,  partly  in  self-defence,  due  in  part  to  love  for 
her  mother.  But  since  she  had  left  Hamilton,  last  night, 
there  had  been  moments  when  she  had  felt  alone  in  the 
Universe  with  him,  exalted  to  such  heights  of  human  pas 
sion  that  she  had  imagined  herself  about  to  become  the 
mother  of  a  new  race.  Her  genius,  which  in  a  later  day 
might  have  taken  the  form  of  mental  creation,  concentrated 
in  a  supreme  capacity  for  idealized  human  passion,  and  its 
blind  impulse  was  a  reproduction  of  itself  in  another  being. 

Were  she  and  Hamilton  but  the  victims  of  a  mighty  ego 
roaming  the  Universe  in  search  of  a  medium  for  human 
expression  ?  Were  they  but  helpless  sacrifices,  consum 
mately  equipped,  that  the  result  of  their  union  might  be 
consummately  great?  Who  shall  affirm  or  deny?  The 
very  commonplaces  of  life  are  components  of  its  eternal 
mystery.  We  know  absolutely  nothing.  But  we  have 
these  facts  :  that  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  on  a  tropical 
island,  where,  even  to  common  beings,  quick  and  intense 
love  must  seem  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world,  this 
man  and  woman  met ;  that  the  woman,  herself  born  in  un 
happy  conditions,  but  beautiful,  intellectual,  with  a  character 
developed  far  beyond  her  years  and  isolated  home  by  the 
cruel  sufferings  of  an  early  marriage,  reared  by  a  woman 
whose  independence  and  energy  had  triumphed  over  the 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  43 

narrow  laws  of  the  Island  of  her  birth,  given  her  courage 
to  snap  her  fingers  at  society  —  we  know  that  this  woman, 
inevitably  remarkable,  met  and  loved  a  stranger  from  the 
North,  so  generously  endowed  that  he  alone  of  all  the 
active  and  individual  men  who  surrounded  her  won  her 
heart ;  and  that  the  result  of  their  union  was  one  of  the 
stupendous  intellects  of  the  world's  history. 

Did  any  great  genius  ever  come  into  the  world  after 
commonplace  pre-natal  conditions  ?  Was  a  maker  of  his 
tory  ever  born  amidst  the  pleasant  harmonies  of  a  satisfied 
domesticity  ?  Of  a  mother  who  was  less  than  remark 
able,  although  she  may  have  escaped  being  great  ?  Did  a 
woman  with  no  wildness  in  her  blood  ever  inform  a  brain 
with  electric  fire  ?  The  students  of  history  know  that 
while  many  mothers  of  great  men  have  been  virtuous, 
none  have  been  commonplace,  and  few  have  been  happy. 
And  lest  the  moralists  of  my  day  and  country  be  more 
prone  to  outraged  virtue,  in  reading  this  story,  than  were 
the  easy-going  folk  who  surrounded  it,  let  me  hasten  to 
remind  them  that  it  all  happened  close  upon  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  and  that  the  man  and  woman  who  gave 
them  the  brain  to  which  they  owe  the  great  structure  that 
has  made  their  country  phenomenal  among  nations,  are 
dust  on  isles  four  hundred  miles  apart. 

A  century  and  a  half  ago  women  indulged  in  little  intro 
spective  analysis.  They  thought  on  broad  lines,  and  hon 
estly  understood  the  strength  of  their  emotions.  Moreover, 
although  Mary  Wollstonecraft  was  unborn  and  "  Emile  " 
unwritten,  Individualism  was  germinating  ;  and  what  soil 
so  quickening  as  the  Tropics  ?  Nevertheless,  to  admit  was 
not  to  lay  the  question,  and  Rachael  passed  through  many 
hours  of  torment  before  hers  was  settled.  She  was  not 
unhappy,  for  the  intoxication  lingered,  and  behind  the 
methodical  ticking  of  her  reason,  stood,  calmly  awaiting  its 
time,  that  sense  of  the  Inevitable  which  has  saved  so  many 
brains  from  madness.  She  slept  little  and  rested  less,  but 
that  sentinel  in  her  brain  prevented  the  frantic  hopelessness 
which  would  have  possessed  her  had  she  felt  herself  strong 
enough  to  command  James  Hamilton  to  leave  the  Island. 


44  THE   CONQUEROR 

She  met  him  several  times  before  the  night  of  her  enter 
tainment,  and  there  were  moments  when  she  was  filled  with 
terror,  for  he  did  not  whisper  a  reference  to  the  conversation 
in  the  Park.  Had  he  thought  better  of  it  ?  Would  he  go  ? 
Would  he  conquer  himself?  Was  it  but  a  passing  mad 
ness  ?  When  these  doubts  tormented  her  she  was  driven 
to  such  a  state  of  jealous  fury  that  she  forgot  every 
scruple,  and  longed  only  for  the  bond  which  would  bind 
him  fast ;  then  reminded  herself  that  she  should  be  grate 
ful,  and  endeavoured  to  be.  But  one  day  when  he  lifted 
her  to  her  horse,  he  kissed  her  wrist,  and  again  the  intoxi 
cation  of  love  went  to  her  head,  and  this  time  it  remained 
there.  Once  they  met  up  in  the  hills,  where  they  had 
been  asked  with  others  to  take  a  dish  of  tea  with  Mistress 
Montgomerie.  They  sat  alone  for  an  hour  on  one  of  the 
terraces  above  the  house,  laughing  and  chattering  like 
children,  then  rode  down  the  hills  through  the  cane-fields 
together.  Again,  they  met  in  the  Park,  and  sat  under  the 
banyan  tree,  discussing  the  great  books  they  had  read,  all 
of  Europe  they  knew.  For  a  time  neither  cared  to  finish 
that  brief  period  of  exquisite  happiness  and  doubt,  where 
imagination  rules,  and  the  world  is  unreal  and  wholly  sweet, 
and  they  its  first  to  love. 

The  wrenching  stage  of  doubt  had  passed  for  Hamilton, 
but  he  thought  on  the  future  with  profound  disquiet.  He 
would  have  the  woman  wholly  or  not  at  all,  after  Mary 
Fawcett's  death;  he  knew  from  Dr.  Hamilton  that  it  would 
occur  before  the  year  was  out.  He  had  no  taste  for 
intrigue.  He  wanted  a  home,  and  the  woman  he  would 
have  rejoiced  to  marry  was  the  woman  he  expected  to  love 
and  live  with  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  Once  or  twice  the 
overwhelming  sense  of  responsibility,  the  certainty  of 
children,  whom  he  could  not  legalize,  the  possible  ruin  of 
his  worldly  interests,  as  well  as  his  deep  and  sincere  love 
for  the  woman,  drove  him  almost  to  the  bows  of  a  home 
ward-bound  vessel.  But  the  sure  knowledge  that  he 
should  return  kept  him  doggedly  on  St.  Christopher.  He 
even  had  ceased  to  explain  his  infatuation  to  himself  by 
such  excuse  as  was  given  him  by  her  beauty,  her  grace, 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  45 

her  strong  yet  charming  brain.  He  loved  her,  and  he 
would  have  her  if  the  skies  fell. 

It  is  doubtful  if  he  understood  the  full  force  of  the 
attraction  between  them.  The  real  energy  and  deliberation, 
the  unswerving  purpose  in  her  magnetized  the  weakness 
at  the  roots  of  his  ardent,  impulsive,  but  unstable  character. 
Moreover,  in  spite  of  the  superlative  passion  which  he  had 
aroused  in  her,  she  lacked  the  animal  magnetism  which 
was  his  in  abundance.  Her  oneness  was  a  magnet  for  his 
gregariousness  and  concentrated  it  upon  herself.  That 
positive  quality  in  him  overwhelmed  and  intoxicated  her ; 
and  in  intellect  he  was  far  more  brilliant  and  far  less 
profound  than  herself.  His  wit  and  mental  nimbleness 
stung  and  pricked  the  serene  layers  which  she  had  care 
fully  superimposed  in  her  own  mind  to  such  activities  as 
mingled  playfully  with  his  lighter  moods  or  stimulated 
him  in  more  intellectual  hours.  While  the  future  was  yet 
unbroken  and  imagination  remodelled  the  face  of  the  world, 
there  were  moments  when  both  were  exalted  with  a  sense 
of  completeness,  and  terrified,  when  apart,  with  a  hint  of 
dissolution  into  unrelated  particles. 

When  a  man  and  woman  arrive  at  that  stage  of  reasoning 
and  feeling,  it  were  idle  for  their  chronicler  to  moralize  ; 
her  part  is  but  to  tell  the  story. 

XI 

Mary  Fawcett  encouraged  her  daughter's  social  activity, 
and  as  Hamilton's  name  entered  the  rapid  accounts  of 
revels  and  routs  in  the  most  casual  manner,  she  endeavoured 
to  persuade  herself  that  the  madness  had  passed  with  a 
languid  afternoon.  She  was  a  woman  of  the  world,  but  the 
one  experience  that  develops  deepest  insight  had  passed 
her  by,  and  there  were  shades  and  moods  of  the  master 
passion  over  which  her  sharp  eyes  roved  without  a  shock. 

As  she  was  too  feeble  to  sit  up  after  nine  o'clock,  she  re 
fused  to  open  her  doors  for  the  crab  hunt,  but  gave  Rachael 
the  key  of  a  little  villa  on  the  crest  of  a  peak  behind  the 
house,  and  told  her  to  keep  her  friends  all  night  if  she  chose. 


46  THE   CONQUEROR 

This  pavilion,  designed  for  the  hotter  weeks  of  the 
hurricane  season,  but  seldom  used  by  the  Fawcetts,  was  a 
small  stone  building,  with  two  bedrooms  and  a  living  room,  a 
swimming  bath,  and  several  huts  for  servants.  The  out 
buildings  were  dilapidated,  but  the  house  after  an  airing  and 
scrubbing  was  as  fit  for  entertainment  as  any  on  St.  Kitts. 
The  furniture  in  the  Tropics  is  of  cane,  and  there  are  no 
carpets  or  hangings  to  invite  destruction.  Even  the 
mattresses  are  often  but  plaited  thongs  of  leather,  covered 
with  strong  linen,  and  stretched  until  they  are  hard  as 
wood.  All  Mary  Favvcett's  furniture  was  of  mahogany, 
the  only  wood  impervious  to  the  boring  of  the  West  Indian 
worm.  This  tiny  house  on  the  mountain  needed  but  a 
day's  work  to  clean  it,  and  another  to  transform  it  into  an 
arbour  of  the  forest.  The  walls  of  the  rooms  were  covered 
with  ferns,  orchids,  and  croton  leaves.  Gold  and  silver 
candelabra  had  been  carried  up  from  the  house,  and  they 
would  hold  half  a  hundred  candles. 

All  day  the  strong  black  women  climbed  the  gorge  and 
hill,  their  hips  swinging,  baskets  of  wine,  trays  of  delicate 
edibles,  pyramids  of  linen,  balanced  as  lightly  on  their 
heads  as  were  they  no  more  in  weight  and  size  than  the 
turban  beneath ;  their  arms  hanging,  their  soft  voices  scold 
ing  the  "pic'nees"  who  stumbled  after  them. 

Toward  evening,  Rachael  and  Kitty  Hamilton  walked 
down  the  mountain  together,  and  lingered  in  the  heavy 
beauty  of  the  gorge.  The  ferns  grew  high  above  their 
heads,  and  palms  of  many  shapes.  The  dark  machineel 
with  its  deadly  fruit,  the  trailing  vines  on  the  tamarind 
trees,  the  monkeys  leaping,  chattering  with  terror,  through 
naming  hybiscus  and  masses  of  orchid,  the  white  volcanic 
rock,  the  long  torn  leaves  of  the  banana  tree,  the  abrupt 
declines,  crimson  with  wild  strawberries,  the  loud  boom  of 
the  sunset  gun  from  Brimstone  Hill  —  Rachael  never  for 
got  a  detail  of  that  last  walk  with  her  old  friend.  Hers 
was  not  the  nature  for  intimate  friendships,  but  Catherine 
Hamilton  had  been  one  of  her  first  remembered  playmates, 
her  bridesmaid,  and  had  hastened  to  companion  her  when 
she  emerged  from  the  darkness  of  her  married  life.  But 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  47 

Catherine  was  an  austere  girl,  of  no  great  mental  liveliness, 
and  the  friendship,  although  sincere,  was  not  rooted  in  the 
sympathies  and  affections.  She  believed  Rachael  to  be 
the  most  remarkable  woman  in  the  world,  and  had  never 
dared  to  contradict  her,  although  she  lowered  her  fine  head 
to  no  one  else.  But  female  virtue,  as  they  expressed  it  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  stood  higher  in  her  estimation  than 
all  the  gifts  of  mind  and  soul  which  had  been  lavished 
upon  Rachael  Levine,  and  she  was  the  first  to  desert  her 
when  the  final  step  was  taken.  But  on  this  evening  there 
was  no  barrier,  and  she  talked  of  her  future  with  the  man 
she  was  to  marry.  She  was  happy  and  somewhat  senti 
mental.  Rachael  sighed  and  set  her  lips.  All  her  girl 
hood  friends  were  either  married  or  about  to  be  —  except 
Christiana,  who  had  not  a  care  in  her  little  world.  Why 
were  sorrow  and  disgrace  for  her  alone  ?  What  have  I 
done,  she  thought,  that  I  seem  to  be  accursed  ?  I  have 
wronged  no  one,  and  I  am  more  gifted  than  any  of  these 
friends  of  mine.  Not  one  of  them  has  studied  so  severely, 
and  learned  as  much  as  I.  Not  one  of  them  can  command 
the  homage  of  such  men  as  I.  And  yet  I  alone  am  singled 
out,  first,  for  the  most  hideous  fate  which  can  attack  a 
woman,  then  to  live  apart  from  all  good  men  and  women 
with  a  man  I  cannot  marry,  and  who  may  break  my  heart.  I 
wish  that  I  had  not  been  born,  and  I  would  not  be  dead  for 
all  the  peace  that  is  in  the  most  silent  depths  of  the  Universe. 
At  ten  o'clock,  that  night,  the  hills  were  red  with  the 
torches  of  as  gay  a  company  as  ever  had  assembled  on  the 
Island.  The  Governor  and  Dr.  Hamilton  were  keen  sports 
men,  and  nothing  delighted  them  more  than  to  chase  in 
furiated  land-crabs  down  the  side  of  a  mountain.  There 
were  some  twenty  men  in  the  party,  and  most  of  them  fol 
lowed  their  distinguished  elders  through  brush  and  rocky 
passes.  Occasionally,  a  sudden  yell  of  pain  mingled  with 
the  shouts  of  mirth,  for  land-crabs  have  their  methods  of 
revenge.  The  three  or  four  girls  whom  Rachael  had  in 
duced  to  attend  this  masculine  frolic,  kept  to  the  high 
refuge  of  the  villa,  attended  by  cavaliers  who  dared  not 
hint  that  maiden  charms  were  less  than  land-crabs. 


48  THE   CONQUEROR 

Hamilton  and  Rachael  sat  on  the  steps  of  the  terrace, 
or  paced  up  and  down,  watching  the  scene.  Just  beyond 
their  crest  was  the  frowning  mass  of  Mount  Misery.  The 
crystal  flood  poured  down  from  above,  and  the  moon  was 
rising  over  the  distant  hills.  The  sea  had  the  look  of 
infinity.  There  might  be  ships  at  anchor  before  Basseterre 
or  Sandy  Point,  but  the  shoulders  of  the  mountain  hid 
them  ;  and  below,  the  world  looked  as  if  the  passions  of 
Hell  had  let  loose  —  the  torches  flared  and  crackled,  and  the 
trees  took  on  hideous  shapes.  Once  a  battalion  of  the  pale 
venomous-looking  crabs  rattled  across  the  terrace,  and  Ra 
chael,  who  was  masculine  in  naught  but  her  intellect, 
screamed  and  flung  herself  into  Hamilton's  arms.  A 
moment  later  she  laughed,  but  their  conversation  ceased 
then  to  be  impersonal.  It  may  be  said  here,  that  if  Hamil 
ton  failed  in  other  walks  of  life,  it  was  not  from  want  of 
resolution  where  women  were  concerned.  And  he  was 
tired  of  philandering. 

The  hunters  returned,  slaves  carrying  the  slaughtered 
crabs  in  baskets.  There  were  many  hands  to  shell  the 
victims,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  Mary  Fawcett's  cook 
sent  in  a  huge  and  steaming  dish.  Then  there  were  mulled 
wines  and  port,  cherry  brandy  and  liqueurs  to  refresh  the 
weary,  and  sweets  for  the  women.  A  livelier  party  never 
sat  down  to  table ;  and  Hamilton,  who  was  placed  between 
two  chattering  girls,  was  a  man  of  the  world,  young  as  he 
was,  and  betrayed  neither  impatience  nor  ennui.  Rachael 
sat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  between  the  Governor  and  Dr. 
Hamilton.  Her  face,  usually  as  white  as  porcelain,  was 
pink  in  the  cheeks  ;  her  eyes  sparkled,  her  nostrils  fluttered 
with  triumph.  She  looked  so  exultant  that  more  than  one 
wondered  if  she  were  intoxicated  with  her  own  beauty ;  but 
Dr.  Hamilton  understood,  and  his  supper  lost  its  relish. 
Some  time  since  he  had  concluded  that  where  Mary  Faw- 
cett  failed  he  could  not  hope  to  succeed,  but  he  had  done 
his  duty  and  lectured  his  cousin.  He  understood  human 
nature  from  its  heights  to  its  dregs,  however,  and  promised 
Hamilton  his  unaltered  friendship,  even  while  in  the  flood  of 
remonstrance.  He  was  a  philosopher,  who  invariably  held 


RACHAEL  LEVINE  49 

out  his  hand  to  the  Inevitable,  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders, 
but  he  loved  Rachael,  and  wished  that  the  ship  that  brought 
Levine  to  the  Islands  had  encountered  a  hurricane. 

The  guests  started  for  home  at  one  o'clock,  few  taking 
the  same  path.  The  tired  slaves  went  down  to  their  huts. 
Rachael  remained  on  the  mountain,  and  Hamilton  returned 
to  her. 

XII 

It  was  a  month  later  that  Rachael,  returning  after  a 
long  ride  with  Hamilton,  found  her  mother  just  descended 
from  the  family  coach. 

"  Is  it  possible  that  you  have  been  to  pay  visits  ? "  she 
asked,  as  she  hastened  to  support  the  feeble  old  woman  up 
the  steps. 

"  No,  I  have  been  to  Basseterre  with  Archibald  Hamn." 

"  Not  to  St.  Peter's,  I  hope." 

"  Oh,  my  dear,  I  do  not  feel  in  the  mood  to  jest.  I  went 
to  court  to  secure  the  future  of  my  three  dear  slaves, 
Rebecca,  Flora,  and  Esther." 

Rachael  placed  her  mother  on  one  of  the  verandah  chairs 
and  dropped  upon  another. 

"  Why  have  you  done  that  ? "  she  asked  faintly. 
"Surely—" 

"  There  are  several  things  I  fully  realize,  and  one  is 
that  each  attack  leaves  me  with  less  vitality  to  resist  the 
next.  These  girls  are  the  daughters  of  my  dear  old 
Rebecca,  who  was  as  much  to  me  as  a  black  ever  can  be 
to  a  white,  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal.  I  have  just 
signed  a  deed  of  trust  before  the  Registrar  —  to  Archibald. 
They  are  still  mine  for  the  rest  of  my  life,  yours  for  your 
lifetime,  or  as  long  as  you  live  here  ;  then  they  go  to  Archi 
bald  or  his  heirs.  I  want  you  to  promise  me  that  they 
shall  never  go  beyond  this  Island  or  Nevis." 

"  I  promise."  Rachael  had  covered  her  face  with  her 
hand. 

"  I  believe  you  kept  the  last  promise  you  made  me.  It 
is  not  in  your  character  to  break  your  word,  however  you 
may  see  fit  to  take  the  law  into  your  own  hands." 


50  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  I  kept  it." 

"  And  you  will  live  with  him  openly  after  my  death.  I 
have  appreciated  your  attempt  to  spare  me." 

"  Ah,  you  do  know  me." 

"  Some  things  may  escape  my  tired  old  eyes,  but  I  love 
you  too  well  not  to  have  seen  for  a  month  past  that  you 
were  as  happy  as  a  bride.  I  shall  say  no  more  —  save  for 
a  few  moments  with  James  Hamilton.  I  am  old  and  ill  and 
helpless.  You  are  young  and  indomitable.  If  I  were  as 
vigorous  and  self-willed  as  when  I  left  your  father,  I  could 
not  control  you  now.  I  shall  leave  you  independent.  Will 
Hamilton,  Archibald,  and  a  few  others  will  stand  by  you ; 
but  alas  !  you  will,  in  the  course  of  nature,  outlive  them  all, 
and  have  no  friend  in  the  world  but  Hamilton  — •  although 
I  shall  write  an  appeal  to  your  sisters  to  be  sent  to  them 
after  my  death.  But  oh,  how  I  wish,  how  I  wish,  that  you 
could  marry  this  man." 

Mary  Fawcett  was  attacked  that  night  by  the  last  harsh 
rigours  of  her  disease  and  all  its  complications.  Until  she 
died,  a  week  later,  Rachael,  except  for  the  hour  that  Ham 
ilton  sat  alone  beside  the  bed  of  the  stricken  woman,  did 
not  leave  her  mother.  The  immortal  happiness  of  the  last 
month  was  forgotten.  She  was  prostrate,  literally  on  her 
knees  with  grief  and  remorse,  for  she  believed  that  her 
mother's  discovery  had  hastened  the  end. 

"  No,  it  is  not  so,"  said  Mary  Fawcett,  one  day.  "  My 
time  has  come  to  die.  Will  Hamilton  will  assure  you  of 
that,  and  I  have  watched  the  space  between  myself  and 
death  diminish  day  by  day,  for  six  months  past.  I  have 
known  that  I  should  die  before  the  year  was  out.  It  is  true 
that  I  die  in  sorrow  and  with  a  miserable  sense  of  failure, 
for  you  have  been  my  best-beloved,  my  idol,  and  I  leave  you 
terribly  placed  in  life  and  with  little  hope  of  betterment. 
But  for  you  I  have  no  reproach.  You  have  given  me  love 
for  love,  and  duty  for  duty.  Life  has  treated  you  brutally; 
what  has  come  now  was,  I  suppose,  inevitable.  Human 
nature  when  it  is  strong  enough  is  stronger  than  moral  law. 
I  grieve  for  you,  but  I  die  without  grievance  against  you. 
Remember  that.  And  Hamilton  ?  He  is  honourable,  and 


RACHAEL   LEVINE  51 

he  loves  you  utterly  —  but  is  he  strong  ?  I  wish  I  knew. 
His  emotions  and  his  active  brain  give  him  so  much  ap 
parent  force  —  but  underneath?  I  wish  I  knew." 

Rachael  was  grateful  for  her  mother's  unselfish  assurance, 
but  she  was  not  to  be  consoled.  The  passions  in  her  nature, 
released  from  other  thrall,  manifested  themselves  in  a  grief 
so  profound,  and  at  times  so  violent,  that  only  her  strong 
frame  saved  her  from  illness.  For  two  weeks  after  Mary 
Fawcett's  death  she  refused  to  see  James  Hamilton  ;  but  by 
that  time  he  felt  at  liberty  to  assert  his  rights,  and  her  finely 
poised  mind  recovered  its  balance  under  his  solace  and 
argument.  Her  life  was  his,  and  to  punish  him  assuaged 
nothing  of  her  sorrow.  He  had  decided,  after  consultation 
with  his  cousin,  to  take  her  to  Nevis,  not  only  to  seclude  her 
from  the  scandalized  society  she  knew  best,  but  that  he 
might  better  divert  her  mind,  in  new  scenes,  from  her  heavy 
affliction.  Hamilton  had  already  embarked  in  his  business 
enterprise,  but  he  had  bought  and  manned  a  sail-boat,  which 
would  carry  him  to  and  from  St.  Kitts  daily.  In  the  dead 
calms  of  summer  there  was  little  business  doing. 

"  I  attempted  no  sophistry  with  my  cousin,"  said  Hamil 
ton,  "and  for  that  reason  I  think  I  have  put  the  final  cork 
ing-pin  into  our  friendship.  Right  or  wrong  we  are  going 
to  live  together  for  the  rest  of  our  lives,  because  I  will  have 
no  other  woman,  and  you  will  have  no  other  man ;  and  we 
will  live  together  publicly,  not  only  because  neither  of  us 
has  the  patience  for  scheming  and  deceit,  but  because 
passion  is  not  our  only  motive  for  union.  There  is  gallantry 
on  every  side  of  us,  and  doubtless  we  alone  shall  be  made  to 
suffer;  for  the  world  loves  to  be  fooled,  it  hates  the  crudeness 
of  truth.  But  we  have  each  other,  and  nothing  else  matters." 

And  to  .Rachael  nothing  else  mattered,  for  her  mother 
was  dead,  and  she  loved  Hamilton  with  an  increasing  pas 
sion  that  was  long  in  culminating. 

XIII 

They  sailed  over  to  Nevis,  accompanied  by  a  dozen  slaves, 
and  took  possession  of  Rachael's  house  in  Main  Street.  It 


52  THE   CONQUEROR 

stood  at  the  very  end  of  the  town,  beyond  the  point  where 
the  street  ceased  and  the  road  round  the  Island  began.  The 
high  wall  of  the  garden  surrounded  a  grove  of  palms  and 
cocoanut  trees.  Only  sojourners  from  England  had  occu 
pied  the  big  comfortable  house,  and  it  was  in  good  repair. 
When  the  acute  stage  of  her  grief  had  passed,  it  was  idle 
for  Rachael  to  deny  to  Hamilton  that  she  was  happy.  And 
at  that  time  she  had  not  a  care  in  the  world,  nor  nad  he. 
Their  combined  incomes  made  them  as  careless  of  money 
as  any  planter  on  the1  Island.  Every  ship  from  England 
brought  them  books  and  music,  and  Hamilton  was  not  only 
the  impassioned  lover  but  the  tenderest  and  most  patient  of 
husbands.  Coaches  dashed  by  and  the  occupants  cast  up 
eyes  and  hands.  The  gay  life  of  Nevis  pulsed  unheeded 
about  the  high  walls,  whose  gates  were  always  locked. 
The  kinsman  of  the  leading  families  of  the  Island  and  the 
most  beautiful  daughter  of  old  John  and  Mary  Fawcett 
were  a  constant  and  agitating  theme,  but  two  people  lived 
their  life  of  secluded  and  poignant  happiness,  and  took 
Nevis  or  St.  Kitts  into  little  account. 


BOOK   II 

ALEXANDER   HAMILTON 

HIS  YOUTH   IN   THE   WEST   INDIES  AND   IN   THE 
COLONIES  OF   NORTH  AMERICA 


I  should  have  been  glad  to  find  an  old  Almanac  of  Nevis 
which  contained  a  description  of  its  nth  of  January, 
1757.  But  one  January  is  much  like  another  in  the  Lee 
ward  Islands,  and  he  who  has  been  there  can  easily 
imagine  the  day  on  which  Alexander  Hamilton  was  born. 
The  sky  was  a  deeper  blue  than  in  summer,  for  the  sun 
was  resting  after  the  terrific  labours  of  Autumn,  and  there 
was  a  prick  in  the  trade  winds  which  stimulated  the  blood 
by  day  and  chilled  it  a  trifle  at  night.  The  slave  women 
moved  more  briskly,  followed  by  a  trotting  brood  of 
"  pic'nees,"  one  or  more  clinging  to  their  hips,  all  bewail 
ing  the  rigours  of  winter.  Down  in  the  river  where  they 
pounded  the  clothes  on  the  stones,  they  vowed  they  would 
carry  the  next  linen  to  the  sulphur  springs,  for  the  very 
marrow  in  their  bones  was  cold.  In  the  Great  Houses 
there  were  no  fires,  but  doors  and  windows  were  closed 
early  and  opened  late,  and  blankets  were  on  every  bed. 
The  thermometer  may  have  stood  at  72°. 

Nevis  herself  was  like  a  green  jewel  casket,  after  the 
autumn  rains.  Oranges  and  sweet  limes  were  yellow  in 
her  orchards,  the  long-leaved  banana  trees  were  swelling 
with  bunches  of  fruit,  the  guavas  were  ready  for  cream 
and  the  boiling.  The  wine  was  in  the  cocoanut,  the  royal 
palms  had  shed  their  faded  summer  leaves  and  glittered 
like  burnished  metal.  The  gorgeous  masses  of  the  croton 
bush  had  drawn  fresh  colour  from  the  rain.  In  the  woods 
and  in  the  long  avenues  which  wound  up  the  mountain  fo 
the  Great  House  of  every  estate,  the  air  was  almost  cold ; 
but  out  under  the  ten  o'clock  sun,  even  a  West  Indian  could 
keep  warm,  and  the  negroes  sang  as  they  reaped  the  cane. 
The  sea  near  the  shore  was  like  green  sunlight,  but  some 

55 


56  THE   CONQUEROR 

yards  out  it  deepened  into  that  intense  hot  blue  which 
is  the  final  excess  of  West  Indian  colouring.  The  spray 
flew  high  over  the  reef  between  Nevis  and  St.  Kitts,  glitter 
ing  like  the  salt  ponds  on  the  desolate  end  of  the  larger 
island,  the  roar  of  the  breakers  audible  in  the  room  where 
the  child  who  was  to  be  called  Alexander  Hamilton  was 
born. 

Rachael  rose  to  a  ceaseless  demand  upon  her  attention 
for  which  she  was  grateful  during  the  long  days  of  Hamil 
ton's  absence.  Alexander  turned  out  to  be  the  most  rest 
less  and  monarchical  of  youngsters  and  preferred  his 
mother  to  his  black  attendants.  She  ruled  him  with  a  firm 
hand,  however,  for  she  had  no  mind  to  lessen  her  pleasure 
in  him,  and  although  she  could  not  keep  him  quiet,  she 
prevented  the  blacks  from  spoiling  him. 

During  the  hurricane  months  Hamilton  yielded  to  her 
nervous  fears,  as  he  had  done  in  the  preceding  year,  and 
crossed  to  St.  Kitts  but  seldom.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  hurri 
canes  of  the  first  degree  are  rare  in  the  West  Indies,  the 
average  to  each  island  being  one  in  a  century.  But 
from  the  25th  of  August,  when  all  the  Caribbean  world 
prostrates  itself  in  church  while  prayers  for  deliver 
ance  from  the  awful  visitation  are  read,  to  the  25th  of 
October,  when  the  grateful  or  the  survivors  join  in 
thanksgiving,  every  wind  alarms  the  nervous,  and  every 
round  woolly  cloud  must  contain  the  white  squall.  Rachael 
knew  that  Nevis  boats  had  turned  over  when  minor  squalls 
dashed  down  the  Narrows  between  the  extreme  points  of 
the  Islands,  and  that  they  were  most  to  be  dreaded  in  the 
hurricane  season.  Hamilton's  inclination  was  to  spare 
in  every  possible  way  the  woman  who  had  sacrificed  so 
much  for  him,  and  he  asked  little  urging  to  idle  his  days  in 
the  cool  library  with  his  charming  wife  and  son.  There 
fore  his  business  suffered,  for  his  partners  took  advantage 
of  his  negligence ;  and  the  decay  of  their  fortunes  began 
when  Rachael,  despite  the  angry  protests  of  Archibald 
Hamn,  sold  her  property  on  St.  Kitts  and  gave  Hamilton 
the  money.  He  withdrew  from  the  firm  which  had  treated 
him  inconsiderately,  and  set  up  a  business  for  himself.  For 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON  57 

a  few  years  he  was  hopeful,  although  more  than  once 
obliged  to  borrow  money  from  his  wife.  She  gave 
freely,  for  she  had  been  brought  up  in  the  careless  plenty 
of  the  Islands.  Mary  Fawcett,  admirable  manager  as  she 
was,  had  been  lavish  with  money,  particularly  when  her 
favourite  child  was  in  question ;  and  Rachael's  imagination 
had  never  worked  toward  the  fact  that  money  could  roll 
down  hill  and  not  roll  up  again.  She  was  long  in  discover 
ing  that  the  man  she  loved  and  admired  was  a  failure  in  the 
uninteresting  world  of  business.  He  was  a  brilliant  and 
charming  companion,  read  in  the  best  literatures  of  the 
world,  a  thoughtful  and  adoring  husband.  It  availed 
Archibald  Hamn  nothing  to  rage  or  Dr.  Hamilton  to 
remonstrate.  Rachael  gradually  learned  that  Hamilton 
was  not  as  strong  as  herself,  but  the  maternal  instinct,  so 
fully  aroused  by  her  child,  impelled  her  to  fill  out  his  nature 
with  hers,  while  denying  nothing  to  the  man  who  did  all  he 
could  to  make  her  happy. 

In  the  third  year  Hamilton  gave  up  his  sail-boat,  and  had 
himself  rowed  across  the  Narrows,  where  the  overlooker 
of  a  salt  estate  he  had  bought  awaited  him  with  a  horse. 
Once  he  would  have  thought  nothing  of  walking  the  eight 
miles  to  Basseterre,  but  the  Tropics,  while  they  sharpen  the 
nerves,  caress  unceasingly  the  indolence  of  man.  During 
the  hurricane  season  he  crossed  as  often  as  he  thought 
necessary,  for  with  expert  oarsmen  there  was  little  danger, 
even  from  squalls,  and  the  distance  was  quickly  covered. 

Gradually  Rachael's  position  was  accepted.  Nothing 
could  alter  the  fact  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  and 
Mary  Fawcett,  and  Hamilton  was  of  the  best  blood  in  the 
Kingdom.  She  was  spoken  of  generally  as  Mistress 
Hamilton,  and  old  friends  of  her  parents  began  to  greet 
her  pleasantly  as  she  drove  about  the  Island  with  her 
beautiful  child.  In  time  they  called,  and  from  that  it  was- 
but  another  step  to  invite,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  young 
Hamiltons  to  their  entertainments.  After  all,  Rachael  was 
not  the  first  woman  in  tropical  Great  Britain  to  love  a  man 
she  could  not  marry,  and  it  was  fatiguing  to  ask  the  ever 
lasting  question  of  whether  the  honesty  of  a  public  irregu- 


58  THE   CONQUEROR 

lar  alliance  were  not  counterbalanced  by  its  dangerous 
example.  It  was  a  day  of  loose  morals,  the  first  fruit 
of  the  vast  scientific  movement  of  the  century,  whose 
last  was  the  French  Revolution.  Moreover,  the  James 
Hamiltons  were  delightful  people,  and  life  on  the  Islands 
was  a  trifle  monotonous  at  times ;  they  brought  into 
Nevis  society  fresh  and  unusual  personalities,  spiced  with 
a  salient  variety.  Hamilton  might  almost  be  said  to  have 
been  born  an  astute  man  of  the  world.  He  opened  his 
doors  with  an  accomplished  hospitality  to  the  most  intelli 
gent  and  cultivated  people  of  the  Island,  ignoring  those 
who  based  their  social  pretensions  on  rank  and  wealth 
alone.  In  consequence  he  and  his  wife  became  the  leaders 
of  a  small  and  exclusive  set,  who  appreciated  their  good 
fortune.  Dr.  Hamilton  and  a  few  other  Kittifonians  were 
constant  visitors  in  this  hospitable  mansion.  Christiana 
Huggins,  who  had  taken  a  bold  stand  from  the  first, 
carried  her  father  there  one  day  in  triumph,  and  that  aus 
tere  parent  laid  down  his  arms.  All  seemed  well,  and  the 
crumbling  of  the  foundations  made  no  sound. 

And  Alexander  ?  He  was  an  excitable  and  ingenious 
imp,  who  saved  himself  from  many  a  spanking  by  his 
sparkling  mind  and  entrancing  sweetness  of  temper.  He 
might  fly  at  his  little  slaves  and  beat  them,  and  to  his  white 
playmates  he  never  yielded  a  point;  but  they  loved  him,  for 
he  was  generous  and  honest,  and  the  happiest  little  mortal  on 
the  Island.  He  could  get  into  as  towering  a  rage  as  old 
John  Fawcett,  but  he  was  immediately  amenable  to  the 
tenderness  of  his  parents. 

When  he  was  four  years  old  he  was  sent  to  a  small 
school,  which  happened  to  be  kept  by  a  Jewess.  In  spite 
of  his  precocity  his  parents  had  no  wish  to  force  a  mind 
which,  although  delightful  to  them  in  its  saucy  quickness, 
aroused  no  ambitious  hopes ;  they  sent  him  to  school 
merely  that  there  might  be  less  opportunity  to  spoil  him  at 
home.  His  new  experience  was  of  a  brief  duration. 

Hamilton  on  a  Sunday  was  reading  to  Rachael  in  the 
library.  Alexander  shoved  a  chair  to  the  table  and  climbed 
with  some  difficulty,  for  he  was  very  small,  to  an  elevated 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  59 

position  among  the  last  reviews  of  Europe.  He  demanded 
the  attention  of  his  parents,  and,  clasping  his  hands  behind 
his  back,  began  to  recite  rapidly  in  an  unknown  tongue. 
The  day  was  very  hot,  and  he  wore  nothing  but  a  white 
apron.  His  little  pink  feet  were  bare  on  the  mahogany, 
and  his  fair  curls  fell  over  a  flushed  and  earnest  face,  which 
at  all  times  was  too  thin  and  alert  to  be  angelic  or  cherubic. 
Hamilton  and  Rachael,  wondering  whom  he  fancied  him 
self  imitating,  preserved  for  a  moment  a  respectful  silence, 
then,  overcome  by  his  solemn  countenance  and  the  fluency 
of  his  outlandish  utterance,  burst  into  one  of  those  peals  of 
sudden  laughter  which  seem  to  strike  the  most  sensitive 
chord  in  young  children.  Alexander  shrieked  in  wrath  and 
terror,  and  made  as  if  to  fling  himself  on  his  mother's  bosom, 
then  planted  his  feet  with  an  air  of  stubborn  defiance,  and 
went  on  with  his  recital.  Hamilton  listened  a  moment 
longer,  then  left  the  house  abruptly.  He  returned  in 
wrath. 

"  That  woman  has  taught  him  the  Decalogue  in  He 
brew  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  'Tis  a  wonder  his  brains  are  not 
addled.  He  will  sail  boats  in  the  swimming-bath  and  make 
shell  houses  in  the  garden  for  the  next  three  years.  We'll 
have  no  more  of  school." 

II 

Alexander  Hamilton  had  several  escapes  from  imminent 
peril  when  he  was  a  boy,  and  the  first  occurred  in  the  month 
of  December,  1761.  Hamilton  had  gone  to  St.  Croix  on 
business,  and  Rachael  and  the  child  spent  the  fortnight  of 
his  absence  with  Christiana  Huggins.  Rachael  was  accus 
tomed  to  Hamilton's  absences,  but  Nevis  was  in  a  very 
unhealthy  condition,  through  lack  of  wind  and  rains  during 
the  preceding  autumn.  The  sea  had  looked  like  a  metal 
floor  for  months,  the  Island  was  parched  and  dry,  the 
swamps  on  the  lowlands  were  pestiferous.  Many  negroes 
had  died  in  Charles  Town,  and  many  more  were  ill.  The 
obeah  doctors,  with  their  absurd  concoctions  and  practices, 
were  openly  defying  the  physicians  of  repute,  for  the  ter- 


60  THE   CONQUEROR 

rifled  blacks  believed  that  the  English  had  prayed  once 
too  often  that  the  hurricane  should  be  stayed,  and  that  he 
sulked  where  none  might  feel  his  faintest  breath.  There 
fore  they  cursed  the  white  doctor  as  futile,  and  flung  his 
physic  from  the  windows. 

Rachael  was  glad  to  escape  to  the  heights  with  Alexander. 
There  it  was  almost  as  cool  as  it  should  be  in  December, 
and  she  could  watch  for  her  husband's  sloop.  He  had 
gone  with  the  first  light  wind,  and  there  was  enough  to 
bring  him  home,  although  with  heavy  sail.  She  forgot  the 
muttering  negroes  and  the  sickness  below.  Her  servants 
had  been  instructed  to  nurse  and  nourish  where  assistance 
was  needed,  and  up  here  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  wan 
der  with  her  friend  and  child  through  the  gay  beauty  of 
the  terraced  garden,  or  climb  the  stone  steps  to  the  cold 
quiet  depths  of  the  forest. 

At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  there  was  no  sign  of  her  hus 
band's  sloop,  but  the  wind  was  strengthening,  and  she 
decided  to  return  home  and  make  ready  for  him.  During 
the  long  drive  she  passed  negroes  in  large  numbers,  either 
walking  toward  Charles  Town  or  standing  in  muttering 
groups  by  the  roadside.  At  one  time  the  driveway  was  so 
thick  with  them  that  her  coach  could  not  pass  until  the 
postilion  laid  about  him  with  his  whip. 

"This  is  very  odd,"  she  said  to  her  nurse.  "I  have 
never  seen  anything  like  this  before." 

"Me  no  t'ink  he  nothin'.  All  go  tee  tick  —  oh,  dis 
pic'nee  no  keep  till  one  minit.  Me  no  t'ink  about  he  'n  de 
road." 

She  lifted  the  child  between  her  face  and  her  mistress's 
eyes,  and  Rachael  saw  that  her  hand  trembled.  "  Can  the 
negroes  be  rising  ?  "  she  wondered  ;  and  for  a  moment  she 
was  faint  with  terror,  and  prayed  for  Hamilton's  return. 

But  she  was  heroic  by  nature,  and  quickly  recovered  her 
poise.  When  she  arrived  at  home  she  sent  the  nurse  to 
Charles  Town  on  an  errand,  then  went  directly  to  her 
bedroom,  which  was  disconnected  from  the  other  rooms, 
and  called  her  three  devoted  maids,  Rebecca,  Flora,  and 
Esther.  They  came  running  at  the  sound  of  her  voice, 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  61 

and  she  saw  at  once  that  they  were  terrified  and  ready  to 
cling  to  her  garments. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  she  demanded.  "Tell  me  at 
once." 

"  Me  no  know  fo'  sure,"  said  Rebecca,  "but  me  t'ink, 
t'ink,  till  me  yell  in  me  tleep.  Somethin'  ter'ble  go  to  hap 
pen.  Me  feel  he  in  de  air.  All  de  daddys,  all  de  buddys, 
'peak,  'peak,  togedder  all  de  time,  an'  look  so  bad  —  an'  de 
oby  doctors  put  de  curse  ebberywheres.  Me  fine  befo'  de 
gate  dis  mornin'  one  pudden',  de  mud  an'  oil  an'  horsehair, 
but  me  no  touch  he.  Me  ask  all  de  sissys  me  know,  what 
comes,  but  he  no  'peak.  He  run  out  he  tongue,  and  once 
he  smack  me  ear.  Oh,  Mistress,  take  us  back  to  Sinkitts." 

"  But  do  you  know  nothing  ?  " 

They  shook  their  heads,  but  stared  at  her  hopefully,  for 
they  believed  implicitly  in  her  power  to  adjust  all  things. 

"  And  my  other  slaves  ?  Do  you  think  they  are  faithful 
to  me  ? " 

"  All  in  de  town  all  de  time.  Me  ask  ebbery  he  tell  me 
what  comes,  and  he  say  'nothin,'  but  I  no  believe  he." 

"And  has  the  Governor  taken  no  notice  ? " 

"  De  Gobbenor  lord  and  all  de  noble  Buckras  go  yis'day 
to  Sinkitts.  Take  de  militia  for  one  gran'  parade  in  Basse- 
tarr.  Is  de  birfday  to-morrow  de  Gobbenor  lord  de  Sinkitts. 
Up  in  de  Great  Houses  no  hear  nothin',  an'  all  quiet  on 
'states  till  yes'day.  Now  comin'  to  town  an'  look  so  bad, 
so  bad !  " 

"  Very  well,  then,  the  Governor  and  the  militia  must  come 
back.  Rebecca,  you  are  the  most  sensible  as  well  as  the 
weakest  in  the  arms.  You  will  stay  here  to-night,  and  you 
will  not  falter  for  a  moment.  As  soon  as  it  is  dark  Flora 
and  Esther  will  row  me  across  the  channel,  and  I  will  send 
the  Buckra's  agent  on  a  fast  horse  with  a  note  to  the  Gov 
ernor.  If  the  other  house  servants  return,  you  will  tell 
them  that  I  am  ill  and  that  Flora  and  Esther  are  nursing 
me.  You  will  lock  the  gates,  and  open  them  to  no  one 
unless  your  Buckra  should  return.  Do  you  understand  ?  " 

The  slave  rolled  her  eyes,  but  nodded.  She  might  have 
defied  the  Captain-General,  but  not  one  of  the  Fawcetts. 


62  THE   CONQUEROR 

There  were  two  hours  before  dark.  Rachael  was  con 
scious  of  every  nerve  in  her  body,  and  paced  up  and  down 
the  long  line  of  rooms  which  terminated  in  the  library,  until 
Alexander's  legs  were  worn  out  trotting  after  her,  and  he 
fell  asleep  on  the  floor.  Twice  she  went  to  the  roof  to  look 
for  Hamilton's  sloop,  but  saw  not  a  sail  on  the  sea ;  and 
the  streets  of  Charles  Town  were  packed  with  negroes. 
England  sent  no  soldiers  to  protect  her  Islands,  and  every 
free  male  between  boyhood  and  old  age  was  forced  by  law 
to  join  the  militia.  It  was  doubtful  if  there  were  a  dozen 
muscular  white  men  on  Nevis  that  night,  for  the  birthday 
of  a  Governor  was  a  fete  of  hilarities.  Unless  the  militia 
returned  that  night,  the  blacks,  if  they  really  were  plotting 
vengeance,  and  she  knew  their  superstitions,  would  have 
burned  every  house  and  cane-field  before  morning. 

The  brief  twilight  passed.  The  mist  rolled  down  from 
the  heights  of  Nevis.  Rachael,  with  Alexander  in  her 
arms,  and  followed  by  her  maids,  stole  along  the  shore 
through  the  thick  cocoanut  groves,  meeting  no  one.  They 
were  far  from  the  town's  centre,  and  all  the  blacks  on 
the  Island  seemed  to  be  gathered  there.  The  boat  was 
beached,  and  it  took  the  combined  efforts  of  the  three 
women  to  launch  it.  When  they  pushed  off,  the  roar  of 
the  breakers  and  the  heavy  mist  covered  their  flight.  But 
there  was  another  danger,  and  the  very  physical  strength 
of  the  slaves  departed  before  it.  They  had  rowed  their 
mistress  about  the  roadstead  before  St.  Kitts  a  hundred 
times,  but  the  close  proximity  of  the  reef  so  terrified  them 
that  Rachael  was  obliged  to  take  the  oars ;  while  Flora 
caught  Alexander  in  so  convulsive  an  embrace  that  he 
awoke  and  protested  with  all  the  vigour  of  his  lungs.  His 
mother's  voice,  to  which  he  was  peculiarly  susceptible, 
hushed  him,  and  he  held  back  his  own,  although  the  gasp 
ing  bosom  on  which  he  rested  did  not  tend  to  soothe  a 
nervous  child.  But  there  were  other  ways  of  expressing 
outraged  feelings,  and  he  kicked  like  a  little  steer. 

Rachael  herself  was  not  too  sure  of  her  knowledge  of 
the  dangerous  channel,  although  she  had  crossed  it  many 
times  with  Hamilton ;  and  the  mist  was  floating  across  to 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  63 

St.  Kitts.  The  hollow  boom  of  the  reef  seemed  so  close 
that  she  expected  to  hear  teeth  in  the  boat  every  moment, 
and  she  knew  that  far  and  wide  the  narrows  bristled.  She 
wondered  if  her  hair  were  turning  white,  and  her  straining 
nerves  quivered  for  a  moment  with  a  feminine  regret ;  for 
she  knew  the  power  of  her  beauty  over  Hamilton.  But 
her  arms  kept  their  strength.  Life  had  taught  her  to  en 
dure  more  than  a  half -hour  of  mortal  anxiety. 

She  reached  the  shore  in  safety,  and  Esther  recovered 
her  muscle  and  agreed  to  run  to  the  overlooker's  house  and 
send  him,  on  his  fleetest  horse,  with  her  mistress's  note 
to  the  Governor  of  Nevis.  When  the  others  reached  the 
house,  a  mile  from  the  Narrows,  the  man  had  gone ;  and 
Rachael  could  do  no  more.  The  overlooker's  wife  mulled 
wine,  and  the  maids  were  soon  asleep.  Alexander  refused 
to  go  to  bed,  and  Rachael,  who  was  not  in  a  disciplinary 
mood,  led  him  out  into  the  open  to  watch  for  the  boats  of 
the  Governor  and  his  militia.  There  was  no  moon ;  they 
could  cross  and  land  near  Hamilton's  house  and  overpower, 
without  discharging  a  gun,  the  negroes  packed  in  Charles 
Town.  If  the  Governor  were  prompt,  the  blacks,  even  had 
they  dispersed  to  fire  the  estates,  would  not  have  time  for 
havoc ;  and  she  knew  the  tendency  of  the  negro  to  pro 
crastinate.  They  did  not  expect  the  Governor  until  late  on 
the  following  day;  they  could  drink  all  night  and  light  their 
torches  at  dawn  when  Nevis  was  heavy  in  her  last  sleep. 
Nevertheless,  Rachael  watched  the  Island  anxiously. 

Fortunately,  Alexander  possessed  an  inquiring  mind,  and 
she  was  obliged  to  answer  so  many  questions  that  the  strain 
was  relieved.  They  walked  amidst  a  wild  and  dismal 
scene.  The  hills  were  sterile  and  black.  The  salt  ponds, 
sunken  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  from  lack  of  rain, 
glittered  white,  but  they  were  set  with  aloes  and  manchi- 
neel,  and  there  were  low  and  muddy  flats  to  be  avoided. 
It  was  a  new  aspect  of  nature  to  the  child  who  had  lived 
his  four  years  amid  the  gay  luxuriance  of  tropic  verdure, 
and  he  was  mightily  interested.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  long 
hour  before  the  overlooker  returned  with  word  that  the 
Governor  was  on  his  way  to  Nevis  with  the  militia  of  both 


64  THE   CONQUEROR 

Islands  —  for  St.  Kitts  was  quiet,  its  negroes  having  taken 
the  drouth  philosophically  —  and  that  her  husband  was  with 
them.  He  had  arrived  at  Basseterre  as  the  boats  were 
leaving ;  as  a  member  of  the  Governor's  staff,  he  had  no 
choice.  He  had  sent  her  word,  however,  not  to  return  to 
Nevis  that  night ;  and  Rachael  and  Alexander  went  down 
to  the  extreme  point  of  the  Island  and  sat  there  through 
a  cold  night  of  bitter  anxiety.  With  the  dawn  Hamilton 
came  for  them. 

The  negroes,  surprised  and  overwhelmed,  had  surrendered 
without  resistance,  and  before  they  had  left  the  town.  They 
confessed  that  their  intention  had  been  to  murder  every 
white  on  the  Island,  seize  the  ammunition  which  was  stored 
on  the  estates,  and  fire  upon  the  militia  as  it  passed,  on  the 
following  day.  The  ringleaders  and  obeah  doctors  were 
either  publicly  executed  or  punished  with  such  cruelty  that 
the  other  malcontents  were  too  cowed  to  plan  another  re 
bellion  ;  and  the  abundant  rains  of  the  following  autumn 
restored  their  faith  in  the  white  man. 

Ill 

When  Alexander  was  five  years  old,  James  arrived,  an 
object  of  much  interest  to  his  elder  brother,  but  a  child 
of  ordinary  parts  to  most  beholders.  He  came  during 
the  last  •  days  of  domestic  tranquillity ;  for  it  was  but  a 
few  weeks  later  that  Hamilton  was  obliged  to  announce 
to  Rachael  that  his  fortunes,  long  tottering,  had  collapsed  to 
their  rotten  foundations.  It  was  some  time  before  she  could 
accommodate  her  understanding  to  the  fact  that  there  was 
nothing  left,  for  even  Levine  had  not  dared  to  lose 
his  money,  far  less  her  own ;  and  had  she  ever  given  the 
subject  of  wealth  a  thought,  she  would  have  assumed  that 
it  had  roots  in  certain  families  which  no  adverse  circum 
stance  could  deplace.  She  had  overheard  high  words  be 
tween  Archibald  Hamn  and  her  husband  in  the  library,  but 
Hamilton's  casual  explanations  had  satisfied  her,  and  she 
had  always  disliked  Archibald  as  a  possible  stepfather.  Dr. 
Hamilton  had  frequently  looked  grave  after  a  conversation 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  65 

with  his  kinsman,  but  Rachael  was  too  unpractical  to  attrib 
ute  his  heavier  moods  to  anything  but  his  advancing  years. 

When  Hamilton  made  her  understand  that  they  were 
penniless,  and  that  his  only  means  of  supporting  her  was 
to  accept  an  offer  from  Peter  Lytton  to  take  charge  of  a 
cattle  estate  on  St.  Croix,  Rachael's  controlling  sensation 
was  dismay  that  this  man  whom  she  had  idolized  and  ideal 
ized,  who  was  the  forgiven  cause  of  her  remarkable  son's 
illegitimacy,  was  a  failure  in  his  competition  with  other  men. 
Money  would  come  somehow,  it  always  had  ;  but  Hamilton 
dethroned,  shoved  out  of  the  ranks  of  planters  and  mer 
chants,  reduced  to  the  status  of  one  of  his  own  overlookers, 
almost  was  a  new  and  strange  being,  and  she  dared  not  bid 
forth  her  hiding  thoughts. 

Fortunately  the  details  of  moving  made  life  impersonal 
and  commonplace.  The  three  slaves  whose  future  had 
been  the  last  concern  but  one  of  Mary  Fawcett,  were  sent, 
wailing,  to  Archibald  Hamn.  Two  of  the  others  were 
retained  to  wait  upon  the  children,  the  rest  sold  with  the 
old  mahogany  furniture  and  the  library.  The  Hamiltons 
set  sail  for  St.  Croix  on  a  day  in  late  April.  The  sympathy 
of  their  friends  had  been  expressed  in  mor^  than  one  offer 
of  a  lucrative  position,  but  Hamilton  was  intensely  proud, 
and  too  mortified  at  his  failure  to  remain  obscure  among  a 
people  who  had  been  delighted  to  accept  his  princely  and 
exclusive  hospitality.  On  St.  Croix  he  was  almost  unknown. 

They  made  the  voyage  in  thirty-two  hours,  but  as  the 
slaves  were  ill,  after  the  invariable  habit  of  their  colour, 
Rachael  had  little  respite  from  her  baby,  or  Hamilton  from 
Alexander,  whose  restless  legs  and  enterprising  mind  kept 
him  in  constant  motion  ;  and  the  day  began  at  five  o'clock. 
There  was  no  opportunity  for  conversation,  and  Hamilton 
was  grateful  to  the  miserable  mustees.  He  had  the  tact  to 
let  his  wife  readjust  herself  to  her  damaged  idols  without 
weak  excuses  and  a  pleading  which  would  have  distressed 
her  further,  but  he  was  glad  to  be  spared  intimate  conver 
sation  with  her. 

As  they  sailed  into  the  bright  green  waters  before  Fred- 
erikstadt,  the  sun  blazed  down  upon  the  white  town  on  the 


66  THE   CONQUEROR 

white  plain  with  a  vicious  energy  which  Rachael  had  never 
seen  on  Nevis  during  the  hottest  and  most  silent  months 
of  the  year.  She  closed  her  eyes  and  longed  for  the  cool 
shallows  of  the  harbour,  and  even  Alexander  ceased  to 
watch  the  flying  fish  dart  like  silver  blades  over  the 
water,  and  was  glad  to  be  stowed  comfortably  into  one 
of  the  little  deck-houses.  As  for  the  slaves,  weakened 
by  illness,  they  wept  and  refused  to  gather  themselves 
together. 

But  Rachael's  soul,  which  had  felt  faint  for  many  days, 
rose  triumphant  in  the  face  of  this  last  affliction.  Like  all 
West  Indians,  she  hated  extreme  heat,  and  during  those 
months  on  her  own  Islands  when  the  trades  hibernated, 
rarely  left  the  house.  She  remembered  little  of  St.  Croix. 
Her  imagination  had  disassociated  itself  from  all  con 
nected  with  it,  but  now  it  burst  into  hideous  activity  and 
pictured  interminable  years  of  scorching  heat  and  blinding 
glare.  For  a  moment  she  descended  to  the  verge  of  hysteria, 
from  which  she  struggled  with  so  mighty  an  effort  that  it 
vitalized  her  spirit  for  the  ordeal  of  her  new  life  ;  and  when 
Hamilton,  cursing  himself,  came  to  assist  her  to  land,  she 
was  able  to  remark  that  she  recalled  the  beauty  of  Christian- 
stadt,  and  to  anathematize  her  sea-green  maids. 

The  trail  of  Spain  is  over  all  the  islands,  and  on  St. 
Croix  has  left  its  picturesque  mark  in  the  heavy  arcades 
which  front  the  houses  in  the  towns.  Behind  these  arcades 
one  can  pass  from  street  to  street  with  brief  egress  into 
the  awful  downpour  of  the  sun,  and  they  give  to  both 
towns  an  effect  of  architectural  beauty.  At  that  time 
palms  and  cocoanuts  grew  in  profusion  along  the  streets 
of  Frederikstadt  and  in  the  gardens,  tempering  the  glare 
of  the  sun  on  the  coral. 

Peter  Lytton's  coach  awaited  the  Hamiltons,  and  at  six 
o'clock  they  started  for  their  new  home.  The  long  drive 
way  across  the  Island  was  set  with  royal  palms,  beyond 
which  rolled  vast  fields  of  cane.  St.  Croix  was  approaching 
the  height  of  her  prosperity,  and  almost  every  inch  of  her 
fertile  acres  was  under  cultivation.  They  rolled  up  and 
over  every  hill,  the  heavy  stone  houses,  with  their  negro 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  67 

hamlets  and  mills,  rising  like  half -submerged  islands, 
unless  they  crowned  a  height.  The  roads  swarmed  with 
Africans,  who  bowed  profoundly  to  the  strangers  in  the 
fine  coach,  grinning  an  amiable  welcome.  Surrounded  by 
so  generous  a  suggestion  of  hospitality  and  plenty,  with 
the  sun  low  in  the  west,  the  spirits  of  the  travellers  rose, 
and  Rachael  thought  with  more  composure  upon  the  mor 
row's  encounter  with  her  elder  sisters.  She  knew  them 
very  slightly,  their  husbands  less.  When  her  connection 
with  Hamilton  began,  correspondence  between  them  had 
ceased ;  but  like  others  they  had  accepted  the  relation,  and 
for  the  last  three  years  Hamilton  had  been  a  welcome 
guest  at  their  houses  when  business  took  him  to  St.  Croix. 
Mrs.  Lytton  had  been  the  first  to  whom  he  had  confided 
his  impending  failure,  and  she,  remembering  her  mother's 
last  letter  and  profoundly  pitying  the  young  sister  who 
seemed  marked  for  misfortune,  had  persuaded  her  husband 
to  offer  Hamilton  the  management  of  his  grazing  estates 
on  the  eastern  end  of  the  Island.  She  wrote  to  Rachael, 
assuring  her  of  welcome,  and  reminding  her  that  her  story 
was  unknown  on  St.  Croix,  that  she  would  be  accepted 
without  question  as  Hamilton's  wife  and  their  sister.  But 
Rachael  knew  that  the  truth  would  come  out  as  soon  as 
they  had  attracted  the  attention  of  their  neighbours,  and 
she  had  seen  enough  of  the  world  to  be  sure  that  what 
people  tolerated  in  the  wealthy  they  censured  in  the  unim 
portant.  To  depend  upon  her  sisters'  protection  instead 
of  her  own  lifelong  distinction,  galled  her  proud  spirit. 
For  the  first  time  she  understood  how  powerless  Hamilton 
was  to  protect  her.  The  glamour  of  that  first  year  when 
nothing  mattered  was  gone  for  ever.  She  had  two  chil 
dren,  one  of  them  uncommon,  and  they  were  to  encounter 
life  without  name  or  property.  True,  Levine  might  die, 
or  Hamilton  make  some  brilliant  coup,  but  she  felt  little 
of  the  buoyancy  of  hope  as  they  left  the  cane-fields  and 
drove  among  the  dark  hills  to  their  new  home. 

The  house  and  outbuildings  were  on  a  high  eminence, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  hills.  Below  was  a  lagoon, 
which  was  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  deep  interval  of 


68  THE   CONQUEROR 

tidal  mud  set  thick  with  mangroves.  The  outlet  through 
this  swamp  was  so  narrow  that  a  shark  which  had  found 
its  way  in  when  young  had  grown  too  large  to  return  whence 
he  came,  and  was  the  solitary  and  discontented  inhabitant  of 
the  lagoon.  The  next  morning  Rachael,  rising  early  and 
walking  on  the  terrace  with  Alexander,  was  horrified  to 
observe  him  warming  his  white  belly  in  the  sun.  On  three 
sides  of  the  lagoon  was  a  thick  grove  of  manchineels,  hung 
with  their  deadly  apples ;  here  and  there  a  palm,  which 
drooped  as  if  in  discord  with  its  neighbours.  It  was  an 
uncheerful  place  for  a  woman  with  terror  and  tumult  in  her 
soul,  but  the  house  was  large  and  had  been  made  comfort 
able  by  her  brother-in-laws'  slaves. 

Mrs.  Lytton  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  drove  over  for  the  eleven 
o'clock  breakfast.  They  were  very  kind,  but  they  were 
many  years  older  than  the  youngest  of  their  family, 
proudly  conscious  of  their  virtue,  uncomprehending  of 
the  emotions  which  had  nearly  wrenched  Rachael's  soul 
from  her  body  more  than  once.  Moreover,  Mrs.  Mitchell 
was  the  physical  image  of  Mary  Fawcett  without  the 
inheritance  of  so  much  as  the  old  lady's  temper;  and 
there  were  moments,  as  she  sat  chattering  amiably  with 
Alexander,  with  whom  she  immediately  fell  in  love,  when 
Rachael  could  have  flown  at  and  throttled  her  because  she 
was  not  her  mother.  Mrs.  Lytton  was  delicate  and  nervous, 
but  more  reserved,  and  Rachael  liked  her  better.  Never 
theless,  she  was  heartily  glad  to  be  rid  of  both  of  them,  and 
reflected  with  satisfaction  that  she  was  to  live  on  the  most 
isolated  part  of  the  Island.  She  had  begged  them  to  ask 
no  one  to  call,  and  for  months  she  saw  little  of  anybody 
except  her  family. 

Her  household  duties  were  many,  and  she  was  forced  at 
once  to  alter  her  lifelong  relation  to  domestic  economics. 
Hamilton's  salary  was  six  hundred  pieces  of  eight,  and  for 
a  time  the  keeping  of  accounts  and  the  plans  for  daily  dis 
posal  of  the  small  income  furnished  almost  the  only  sub 
jects  of  conversation  between  her  husband  and  herself. 
His  duties  kept  him  on  horseback  during  all  but  the  in 
tolerable  hours  of  the  day,  and  until  their  new  life  had 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  69 

become  a  commonplace  they  were  fortunate  in  seeing  little 
of  each  other. 

Alexander  long  since  had  upset  his  father's  purpose  to 
defer  the  opening  of  his  mind  until  the  age  of  seven. 
He  had  taught  himself  the  rudiments  of  education  by  such 
ceaseless  questioning  of  both  his  parents  that  they  were 
glad  to  set  him  a  daily  task  and  keep  him  at  it  as  long  as 
possible.  In  this  new  home  he  had  few  resources  besides 
his  little  books  and  his  mother,  who  gave  him  all  her  leisure. 
There  were  no  white  playmates,  and  he  was  not  allowed 
to  go  near  the  lagoon,  lest  the  shark  get  him  or  he  eat  of 
forbidden  fruit.  Just  after  his  sixth  birthday,  however, 
several  changes  occurred  in  his  life :  Peter  Lytton  sent  him 
a  pony,  his  father  killed  the  shark  and  gave  him  a  boat, 
and  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Knox. 

This  man,  who  was  to  play  so  important  a  part  in  the 
life  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  was  himself  a  personality. 
At  this  time  but  little  over  thirty,  he  had,  some  years  since, 
come  to  the  West  Indies  with  a  classical  library  and  a 
determination  to  rescue  the  planters  from  that  hell  which 
awaits  those  who  drowse  through  life  in  a  clime  where  it 
is  always  summer  when  it  is  not  simply  and  blazingly 
West  Indian.  He  soon  threw  the  mantle  of  charity  over 
the  patient  planters,  and  became  the  boon  companion  of 
many;  but  he  made  converts  and  was  mightily  proud  of 
them.  His  was  the  zeal  of  the  converted.  When  he 
arrived  in  the  United  States,  in  1753,  young,  fresh  from 
college,  enthusiastic,  and  handsome,  he  found  favour  at 
once  in  the  eyes  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rogers  of  Middle- 
town  on  the  Delaware,  to  whom  he  had  brought  a  letter  of 
introduction.  Through  the  influence  of  this  eminent  divine, 
he  obtained  a  school  and  many  friends.  The  big  witty 
Irishman  was  a  welcome  guest  at  the  popular  tavern,  and 
was  not  long  establishing  himself  as  the  leader  of  its 
hilarities.  He  was  a  peculiarly  good  mimic,  and  on  Satur 
day  nights  his  boon  companions  fell  into  the  habit  of 
demanding  his  impersonation  of  some  character  locally 
famous.  One  night  he  essayed  a  reproduction  of  Dr. 
Rogers,  then  one  of  the  most  celebrated  men  of  his  cloth 


70  THE   CONQUEROR 

Knox  rehearsed  the  sermon  of  the  previous  Sunday,  not 
only  with  all  the  divine's  peculiarity  of  gesture  and  inflec 
tion,  but  almost  word  for  word  ;  for  his  memory  was  remark 
able.  At  the  start  his  listeners  applauded  violently,  then 
subsided  into  the  respectful  silence  they  were  wont  to 
accord  Dr.  Rogers;  at  the  finish  they  stole  out  without- 
a  word.  As  for  Knox,  he  sat  alone,  overwhelmed  with  the 
powerful  sermon  he  had  repeated,  and  by  remorse  for  his 
own  attempted  levity.  His  emotional  Celtic  nature  was 
deeply  impressed.  A  few  days  later  he  disappeared,  and 
was  not  heard  of  again  until,  some  months  after,  Dr.  Rogers 
learned  that  he  was  the  guest  of  the  Rev.  Aaron  Burr  at 
Newark,  and  studying  for  the  church.  He  was  ordained 
in  due  course,  converted  his  old  companions,  then  set  sail 
for  St.  Croix. 

Hamilton  met  him  at  Peter  Lytton's,  talked  with  him 
the  day  through,  and  carried  him  home  to  dinner.  After 
that  he  became  little  less  than  an  inmate  of  the  household  ; 
a  room  was  furnished  for  him,  and  when  he  did  not  occupy 
it,  he  rode  over  several  times  a  week.  His  books  littered 
every  table  and  shelf. 

Alexander  was  his  idol,  and  he  was  the  first  to  see  that 
the  boy  was  something  more  than  brilliant.  Hamilton  had 
accepted  his  son's  cleverness  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
Rachael,  having  a  keen  contempt  for  fatuous  mothers, 
hardly  had  dared  admit  to  herself  that  her  son  was  to  other 
boys  as  a  star  to  pebbles.  When  Knox,  who  had  under 
taken  his  education  at  once,  assured  her  that  he  must 
distinguish  himself  if  he  lived,  probably  in  letters,  life  felt 
almost  fresh  again,  although  she  regretted  his  handicap 
the  more  bitterly.  As  for  Knox,  his  patience  was  inexhaust 
ible.  Alexander  would  have  everything  resolved  into  its 
elements,  and  was  merciless  in  his  demand  for  information, 
no  matter  what  the  thermometer.  He  had  no  playmates 
until  he  was  nine,  and  by  that  time  he  had  much  else  to 
sober  him.  Of  the  ordinary  pleasures  of  childhood  he  had 
scant  knowledge. 

Rachael  wondered  at  the  invariable  sunniness  of  his 
nature,  —  save  when  he  flew  into  a  rage, — for  under  the 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  71 

buoyancy  of  her  own  had  always  been  a  certain  melancholy. 
Before  his  birth  she  had  gone  to  the  extremes  of  happiness 
and  grief,  her  normal  relation  to  life  almost  forgotten. 
But  the  sharpened  nerves  of  the  child  manifested  them 
selves  in  acute  sensibilities  and  an  extraordinary  precocity 
of  intellect,  never  in  morbid  or  irritable  moods.  He  was 
excitable,  and  had  a  high  and  sometimes  furious  temper, 
but  even  his  habit  of  study  never  extinguished  his  gay  and 
lively  spirits.  On  the  other  hand,  beneath  the  surface 
sparkle  of  his  mind  was  a  British  ruggedness  and  tenacity, 
and  a  stubborn  oneness  of  purpose,  whatever  might  be  the 
object,  with  which  no  lighter  mood  interfered.  All  this 
Rachael  lived  long  enough  to  discover  and  find  compen 
sation  in,  and  as  she  mastered  the  duties  of  her  new  life 
she  companioned  the  boy  more  and  more.  James  was  a 
good  but  uninteresting  baby,  who  made  few  demands  upon 
her,  and  was  satisfied  with  his  nurse.  She  never  pretended 
to  herself  that  she  loved  him  as  she  did  Alexander,  for 
aside  from  the  personality  of  her  first-born,  he  was  the 
symbol  and  manifest  of  her  deepest  living. 

Although  Rachael  was  monotonously  conscious  of  the 
iron  that  had  impaled  her  soul,  she  was  not  quite  unhappy 
at  this  time,  and  she  never  ceased  to  love  Hamilton. 
Whatever  his  lacks  and  failures,  nothing  could  destroy  his 
fascination  as  a  man.  His  love  for  her,  although  tranquil 
lized  by  time,  was  still  strong  enough  to  keep  alive  his  desire 
to  please  her,  and  he  thought  of  her  as  his  wife  always.  He 
felt  the  change  in  her,  and  his  soul  rebelled  bitterly  at  the 
destruction  of  his  pedestal  and  halo,  and  all  that  fiction 
had  meant  to  both  of  them ;  but  he  respected  her  reserve, 
and  the  subject  never  came  up  between  them.  He  knew 
that  she  never  would  love  any  one  else,  that  she  still 
loved  him  passionately,  despite  the  shattered  ideal  of  him ; 
and  he  consoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that  even  in 
giving  him  less  than  her  entire  store,  she  gave  him,  merely 
by  being  herself,  more  than  he  had  thought  to  find  in  any 
woman.  His  courteous  attentions  to  her  had  never  relaxed, 
and  in  time  the  old  companionship  was  resumed;  they 
read  and  discussed  as  in  their  other  home ;  but  this 


72  THE   CONQUEROR 

their  little  circle  was  widened  by  two,  Alexander  and  Hugh 
Knox.  The  uninterrupted  intimacy  of  their  first  years  was 
not  to  be  resumed. 

They  saw  little  of  the  society  of  St.  Croix.  In  1763 
Christiana  Huggins,  visiting  the  Peter  Lyttons,  married  her 
host's  brother,  James,  and  settled  on  the  Island.  She  drove 
occasionally  to  the  lonely  estate  in  the  east,  but  she  had  a 
succession  of  children  and  little  time  for  old  duties.  Rachael 
exchanged  calls  at  long  intervals  with  her  sisters  and  their 
intimate  friends,  the  Yards,  Lillies,  Crugers,  Stevens,  Langs, 
and  Goodchilds,  but  she  had  been  too  great  a  lady  to  strive 
now  for  social  position,  practically  dependent  as  she  was  on 
the  charity  of  her  relatives. 

IV 

In  the  third  year  of  their  life  on  St.  Croix,  Rachael  dis 
covered  that  Peter  Lytton  was  dissatisfied  with  Hamilton, 
and  retained  him  to  his  own  detriment,  out  of  sympathy 
for  herself  and  her  children.  From  that  time  she  had  few 
tranquil  moments.  It  was  as  if,  like  the  timid  in  the  hurri 
cane  season,  she  sat  constantly  with  ears  strained  for  that 
first  loud  roar  in  the  east.  She  realized  then  that  the  sort 
of  upheaval  which  shatters  one's  economic  life  is  but  the 
precursor  of  other  upheavals,  and  she  thought  on  the  un 
known  future  until  her  strong  soul  was  faint  again. 

Hamilton  was  one  of  those  men  whose  gifts  are  ruined 
by  their  impulses,  in  whom  the  cultivation  of  sober  judge 
ment  is  interrupted  by  the  excesses  of  a  too  sanguine  tem 
perament.  He  was  honourable,  and  always  willing  to  admit 
his  mistakes,  but  years  and  repeated  failure  did  little  toward 
balancing  his  faults  and  virtues.  In  time  he  wore  out  the 
patience  of  even  those  who  loved  and  admired  him.  His 
wife  remained  his  one  loyal  and  unswerving  friend,  but  her 
part  in  his  life  was  near  its  finish.  The  day  came  when 
Peter  Lytton,  exasperated  once  too  often,  after  an  ill- 
considered  sale  of  valuable  stock,  let  fly  his  temper,  and 
further  acceptance  of  his  favour  was  out  of  the  question. 
Hamilton,  after  a  scene  with  his  wife,  in  which  his  agony 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  73 

and  remorse  quickened  all  the  finest  passions  in  her  own 
nature,  sailed  for  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent,  in  the  hope 
of  finding  employment  with  one  of  his  former  business 
connections.  He  had  no  choice  but  to  leave  his  wife  and 
children  dependent  upon  her  relatives  until  he  could  send 
for  them ;  and  a  week  later  Rachael  was  forced  to  move 
to  Peter  Lytton's. 

Her  brother-in-law's  house  was  very  large.  She  was 
given  an  upstairs  wing  of  it  and  treated  with  much  con 
sideration,  but  this  final  ignominy  broke  her  haughty  spirit, 
and  she  lost  interest  in  herself.  She  was  thankful  that 
her  children  were  not  to  grow  up  in  want,  that  Alexander 
was  able  to  continue  his  studies  with  Hugh  Knox.  He 
was  beyond  her  now  in  everything  but  French,  in  which 
they  read  and  talked  together  daily.  She  also  discussed 
constantly  with  him  those  heroes  of  history  distinguished 
not  only  for  great  achievements,  but  for  sternest  honour. 
She  dreamed  of  his  future  greatness,  and  sometimes  of  her 
part  in  it.  But  her  inner  life  was  swathed  like  a  mummy. 

To  Alexander  the  change  would  have  been  welcome 
had  he  understood  his  mother  less.  But  the  ordinary 
bright  boy  of  nine  is  acute  and  observing,  and  this  boy 
of  Rachael's,  with  his  extraordinary  intuitions,  his  unboy- 
ish  brain,  his  sympathetic  and  profound  affection  for  his 
mother,  felt  with  her  and  criticised  his  father  severely.  To 
him  failure  was  incomprehensible,  then,  as  later,  for  self- 
confidence  and  indomitability  were  parts  of  his  equipment ; 
and  that  a  man  of  his  father's  age  and  experience,  to  say 
nothing  of  his  education  and  intellect,  should  so  fail  in  the 
common  relation  of  life,  and  break  the  heart  and  pride  of 
the  uncommonest  of  women,  filled  him  with  a  deep  disap 
pointment,  which,  no  doubt,  was  the  first  step  toward  the 
early  loss  of  certain  illusions. 

Otherwise  his  life  was  vastly  improved.  He  soon  be 
came  intimate  with  boys  of  neighbouring  estates,  Edward 
and  Thomas  Stevens,  and  Benjamin  Yard,  and  for  a  time 
they  all  studied  together  under  Hugh  Knox.  At  first  there 
was  discord,  for  Alexander  would  have  led  a  host  of  cheru- 
bims  or  had  naught  to  do  with  them,  and  these  boys  were 


74  THE   CONQUEROR 

clever  and  spirited.  There  were  fights  of  word  and  fist  in 
the  lee  of  Mr.  Lytton's  barn,  where  interference  was  un 
likely  ;  but  the  three  succumbed  speedily,  not  alone  to  the 
powerful  magnetism  in  little  Hamilton's  mind,  and  to  his 
active  fists,  but  because  he  invariably  excited  passionate 
attachment,  unless  he  encountered  jealous  hate.  When 
his  popularity  with  these  boys  was  established  they  adored 
the  very  blaze  of  his  temper,  and  when  he  formed  them 
into  a  soldier  company  and  marched  them  up  and  down 
the  palm  avenue  for  a  morning  at  a  time,  they  never  mur 
mured,  although  they  were  like  to  die  of  the  heat  and  un 
accustomed  exertion.  Neddy  Stevens,  who  resembled  him 
somewhat  in  face,  was  the  closest  of  these  boyhood  friends. 

Alexander  was  a  great  favourite  with  Mr.  Lytton,  who 
took  him  to  ride  every  morning ;  Mrs.  Lytton  preferred 
James,  who  was  a  comfortable  child  to  nurse ;  but  Mrs. 
Mitchell  was  the  declared  slave  of  her  lively  nephew,  and 
sent  her  coach  for  him  on  Saturday  mornings.  As  for 
Hugh  Knox,  he  never  ceased  to  whittle  at  the  boy's  am 
bition  and  point  it  toward  a  great  place  in  modern  letters. 
Had  he  been  born  with  less  sound  sense  and  a  less  watch 
ful  mother,  it  is  appalling  to  think  what  a  brat  he  would 
have  been ;  but  as  it  was,  the  spoiling  but  fostered  a  self- 
confidence  which  was  half  the  battle  in  after  years. 

Hamilton  never  returned.  His  letters  to  his  wife  spoke 
always  of  the  happiness  of  their  final  reunion,  of  belief  in 
the  future.  His  brothers  had  sent  him  money,  and  he 
hoped  they  would  help  him  to  recover  his  fortunes.  But 
two  years  passed  and  he  was  still  existing  on  a  small 
salary,  his  hopes  and  his  impassioned  tenderness  were 
stereotyped.  Rachael's  experience  with  Hamilton  had 
developed  her  insight.  She  knew  that  man  requires 
woman  to  look  after  her  own  fuel.  If  she  cannot,  he 
may  carry  through  life  the  perfume  of  a  sentiment,  and  a 
tender  regret,  but  it  grows  easy  and  more  easy  to  live  with 
out  her.  It  was  a  long  while  before  she  forced  her  pene 
trating  vision  round  to  the  certainty  that  she  never  should 
see  Hamilton  again,  and  then  she  realized  how  strong 
hope  had  been,  that  her  interest  in  herself  was  not  dead, 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  75 

that  her  love  must  remain  quick  through  interminable 
years  of  monotony  and  humiliation.  For  a  time  she  was 
so  alive  that  she  went  close  to  killing  herself,  but  she 
fought  it  out  as  she  had  fought  through  other  desperate 
crises,  and  wrenched  herself  free  of  her  youth,  to  live  for 
the  time  when  her  son's  genius  should  lift  him  so  high 
among  the  immortals  that  his  birth  would  matter  as  little 
as  her  own  hours  of  agony.  But  the  strength  that  carried 
her  triumphantly  through  that  battle  was  fed  by  the  last  of 
her  vitality,  and  it  was  not  long  before  she  knew  that  she 
must  die. 

Alexander  knew  it  first.  The  change  in  his  mother  was 
so  sudden,  the  earthen  hue  of  her  white  skin,  the  dimming 
of  her  splendid  eyes,  spoke  so  unmistakably  of  some, 
strange  collapse  of  the  vital  forces,  that  it  seemed  to  the 
boy  who  worshipped  her  as  if  all  the  noises  of  the  Uni 
verse  were  shrieking  his  anguish.  At  the  same  time  he 
fought  for  an  impassive  exterior,  then  bolted  from  the 
house  and  rode  across  the  Island  for  a  doctor.  The  man 
came,  prescribed  for  a  megrim,  and  Alexander  did  not  call 
him  again ;  nor  did  he  mention  his  mother's  condition  to 
the  rest  of  the  family.  She  was  in  the  habit  of  remaining 
in  her  rooms  for  weeks  at  a  time,  and  she  had  her  own 
attendants.  Mrs.  Lytton  was  an  invalid,  and  Peter  Lytton, 
while  ready  to  give  of  his  bounty  to  his  wife's  sister,  had 
too  little  in  common  with  Rachael  to  seek  her  companion 
ship.  Alexander  felt  the  presence  of  death  too  surely  to 
hope,  and  was  determined  to  have  his  mother  to  himself 
during  the  time  that  remained.  He  confided  in  Hugh 
Knox,  then  barely  left  the  apartments. 

Just  before  her  collapse  Rachael  was  still  a  beautiful 
woman.  She  was  only  thirty-two  when  she  died.  Her 
face,  except  when  she  forced  her  brain  to  activity,  was 
sad  and  worn,  but  the  mobile  beauty  of  the  features  was 
unimpaired,  and  her  eyes  were  luminous,  even  at  their 
darkest.  Her  head  was  always  proudly  erect,  and  nature 
had  given  her  a  grace  and  a  dash  which  survived  broken 
fortunes  and  the  death  of  her  coquetry.  No  doubt  this  is  the 
impression  of  her  which  Alexander  carried  through  life,  for 


76  THE   CONQUEROR 

those  last  two  months  passed  to  the  sound  of  falling  ruins, 
on  which  he  was  too  sensible  to  dwell  when  they  had  gone 
into  the  control  of  his  will. 

After  she  had  admitted  to  Alexander  that  she  understood 
her  condition,  they  seldom  alluded  to  the  subject,  although 
their  conversation  was  as  rarely  impersonal.  The  house 
stood  high,  and  Rachael's  windows  commanded  one  of  the 
most  charming  views  on  the  Island.  Below  was  the  green 
valley,  with  the  turbaned  women  moving  among  the  cane, 
then  the  long  white  road  with  its  splendid  setting  of  royal 
palms,  winding  past  a  hill  with  groves  of  palms,  marble 
fountains  and  statues,  terraces  covered  with  hibiscus  and 
orchid,  and  another  Great  House  on  its  summit.  Far  to 
the  right,  through  an  opening  in  the  hills,  was  a  glimpse 
of  the  sea. 

Rachael  lay  on  a  couch  in  a  little  balcony  during  much 
of  the  soft  winter  day,  and  talked  to  Alexander  of  her 
mother  and  her  youth,  finally  of  his  father,  touching  lightly 
on  the  almost  forgotten  episode  with  Levine.  All  that  she 
did  not  say  his  creative  brain  divined,  and  when  she  told 
him  what  he  had  long  suspected,  that  his  mother's  name 
was  unknown  to  the  Hamiltons  of  Grange,  he  accepted  the 
fact  as  but  one  more  obstacle  to  be  overthrown  in  the 
battle  with  life  which  he  had  long  known  he  was  to  fight 
unaided.  To  criticise  his  mother  never  occurred  to  him ; 
her  control  of  his  heart  and  imagination  was  too  absolute. 
His  only  regret  was  that  she  could  not  live  until  he  was 
able  to  justify  her.  The  audacity  and  boldness  of  his 
nature  were  stimulated  by  the  prospect  of  this  sharp  battle 
with  the  world's  most  cherished  convention,  and  he  was 
fully  aware  of  all  that  he  owed  to  his  mother.  When  he 
told  her  this  she  said  :  — 

"  I  regret  nothing,  even  though  it  has  brought  me  to  this. 
In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  in  me  to  do  anything  so  futile. 
In  the  second  place,  I  have  been  permitted  to  live  in  every 
part  of  my  nature,  and  how  many  women  can  say  that? 
In  the  third,  you  are  in  the  world,  and  if  I  could  live  I 
should  see  you  the  honoured  of  all  men.  I  die  with  regret 
because  you  need  me  for  many  years  to  come,  and  I  have 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  77 

suffered  so  much  that  I  never  could  suffer  again.  Re 
member  always  that  you  are  to  be  a  great  man,  not  merely 
a  successful  one.  Your  mind  and  your  will  are  capable  of 
all  things.  Never  try  for  the  second  best,  and  that  means 
to  put  your  immediate  personal  desire  aside  when  it  en 
counters  one  of  the  ideals  of  your  time.  Unless  you 
identify  yourself  with  the  great  principles  of  the  world 
you  will  be  a  failure,  because  your  mind  is  created  in  har 
mony  with  them,  and  if  you  use  it  for  smaller  purposes 
it  will  fail  as  surely  as  if  it  tried  to  lie  or  steal.  Your 
passions  are  violent,  and  you  have  a  blackness  of  hate  in 
you  which  will  ruin  you  or  others  according  to  the  control 
you  acquire  over  it ;  so  be  warned.  But  you  never  can  fail 
through  any  of  the  ordinary  defects  of  character.  You  are 
too  bold  and  independent  to  lie,  even  if  you  had  been  born 
with  any  such  disposition ;  you  are  honourable  and  tactful, 
and  there  is  as  little  doubt  of  your  fascination  and  your 
power  over  others.  But  remember — use  all  these  great 
forces  when  your  ambition  is  hottest,  then  you  can  stumble 
upon  no  second  place.  As  for  your  heart,  it  will  control 
your  head  sometimes,  but  your  insatiable  brain  will  ac 
complish  so  much  that  it  can  afford  to  lose  occasionally ; 
and  the  warmth  of  your  nature  will  make  you  so  many 
friends,  that  I  draw  from  it  more  strength  to  die  than  from 
all  your  other  gifts.  Leave  this  Island  as  soon  as  you  can. 
Ah,  if  I  could  give  you  but  a  few  thousands  to  force  the 
first  doors ! " 

She  died  on  the  iQth  of  February,  1768.  Her  con 
dition  had  been  known  for  some  days,  and  her  sisters 
had  shed  many  tears,  aghast  and  deeply  impressed  at  the 
tragic  fate  of  this  youngest,  strangest,  and  most  gifted  of 
their  father's  children.  Unconsciously  they  had  expected 
her  to  do  something  extraordinary,  and  it  was  yet  too  soon 
to  realize  that  she  had.  His  aunts  had  announced  far  and 
wide  that  Alexander  was  the  brightest  boy  on  the  Island, 
but  that  a  nation  lay  folded  in  his  saucy  audacious  brain 
they  hardly  could  be  expected  to  know. 


78  THE   CONQUEROR 

V 

The  Great  House  of  Peter  Lytton  was  hung  with  white 
from  top  to  bottom,  and  every  piece  of  furniture  looked  as 
if  the  cold  wing  of  death  had  touched  it.  A  white  satin 
gown,  which  had  come  from  London  for  Rachael  six  years 
before, — just  too  late,  for  she  never  went  to  a  ball  again,  — 
was  taken  from  her  mahogany  press  and  wrapped  about  her 
wasted  body.  Her  magnificent  hair  was  put  out  of  sight 
in  a  cap  of  blond  lace. 

The  fashionable  world  of  St.  Croix,  which  had  seen  little 
of  Rachael  in  life,  came  to  the  ceremonious  exit  of  her 
body.  They  sat  along  the  four  sides  of  the  large  drawing- 
room,  looking  like  a  black  dado  against  the  white  walls,  and 
the  Rev.  Cecil  Wray  Goodchild,  the  pastor  of  the  larger 
number  of  that  sombre  flock,  sonorously  read  the  prayers 
for  the  dead.  Hugh  Knox  felt  that  his  was  the  right 
to  perform  that  ceremony ;  but  he  was  a  Presbyterian, 
and  Peter  Lytton  was  not  one  of  his  converts.  He  was 
there,  however,  and  so  were  several  Danes,  whose  colour 
less  faces  and  heads  completed  the  symbolization  encir 
cling  the  coffin.  People  of  Nevis,  St.  Christopher,  and  St. 
Croix  were  there,  the  sisters  born  of  the  same  mother,  a 
kinsman  of  Hamilton's,  himself  named  James  Hamilton, 
these  bleached  people  of  the  North,  whose  faces,  virtuous 
as  they  were,  would  have  seemed  to  the  dead  woman  to 
shed  the  malignant  aura  of  Levine's,  —  and  the  boy  for 
whom  the  sacrificial  body  had  been  laid  on  the  altar.  He 
paid  his  debt  in  wretchedness  then  and  there,  and  stood 
by  the  black  pall  which  covered  his  mother,  feeling  a 
hundred  years  older  than  the  brother  who  sat  demurely 
on  Mrs.  Lytton's  agitated  lap. 

When  Mr.  Goodchild  closed  his  book,  the  slave  women 
entered  with  silver  pitchers  containing  mulled  wines,  porter 
mixed  with  sugar  and  spice,  madeira,  and  port  wine. 
Heaped  high  on  silver  salvers  were  pastries  and  "dyer 
bread,"  wrapped  in  white  paper  sealed  with  black  wax. 
The  guests  refreshed  themselves  deeply,  then  followed  the 
coffin,  which  was  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  dead 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON  79 

woman's  brothers  and  their  closest  friends,  across  the 
valley  to  the  private  burying-ground  of  the  Lyttons.  Old 
James  Lytton  was  placed  beside  her  in  the  following 
year,  and  ten  years  later  a  child  of  Christiana  Huggins, 
the  wife  of  his  son.  The  cane  grows  above  their  graves 
to-day. 

VI 

Alexander  went  home  with  Mrs.  Mitchell,  and  it  was 
long  before  he  returned  to  Peter  Lytton's.  His  favourite 
aunt  was  delighted  to  get  him,  and  her  husband,  for  whom 
Alexander  had  no  love,  was  shortly  to  sail  on  one  of  his 
frequent  voyages. 

Mrs.  Mitchell  had  a  winter  home  in  Christianstadt,  for 
she  loved  the  gay  life  of  the  little  capital,  and  her  large 
house,  on  the  corner  of  King  and  Strand  streets,  was 
opened  almost  as  often  as  Government  House.  This 
pile,  with  its  imposing  facade,  represented  to  her  the  fulfil 
ment  of  worldly  ambitions  and  splendour.  There  was 
nothing  to  compare  with  it  on  Nevis  or  St.  Kitts,  nor  yet 
on  St.  Thomas ;  and  her  imagination  or  memory  gave  her 
nothing  in  Europe  to  rival  it.  When  Government  House 
was  closed  she  felt  as  if  the  world  were  eating  bread  and 
cheese.  The  Danes  were  not  only  the  easiest  and  most 
generous  of  rulers,  but  they  entertained  with  a  royal  con 
tempt  of  pieces  of  eight,  and  their  adopted  children  had 
neither  the  excuse  nor  the  desire  to  return  to  their  native 
isles. 

Christianstadt,  although  rising  straight  from  the  harbour, 
has  the  picturesque  effect  of  a  high  mountain-village. 
As  the  road  across  the  Island  finds  its  termination  in 
King  Street,  the  perceptible  decline  and  the  surround 
ing  hills,  curving  in  a  crescent  to  the  unseen  shore  a 
mile  away,  create  the  illusion.  On  the  left  the  town 
straggles  away  in  an  irregular  quarter  for  the  poor,  set 
thick  with  groves  of  cocoanut  and  palm.  On  the  right, 
and  parallel  with  the  main  road,  is  Company  Street,  and 
above  is  the  mountain  studded  with  great  white  stone 


8o  THE   CONQUEROR 

houses,  softened  by  the  lofty  roofs  of  the  royal  palm.  All 
along  King  Street  the  massive  houses  stand  close  together, 
each  with  its  arcade  and  its  curious  outside  staircase  of 
stone  which  leads  to  an  upper  balcony  where  one  may 
catch  the  breeze  and  watch  the  leisures  of  tropic  life. 
Almost  every  house  has -a  court  opening  into  a  yard  sur 
rounded  by  the  overhanging  balconies  of  three  sides  of 
the  building;  and  here  the  guinea  fowl  screech  their 
matins,  the  roosters  crow  all  night,  there  is  always  a  negro 
asleep  under  a  cocoanut  tree,  and  a  flame  of  colour  from 
potted  plants. 

Down  by  the  sea  is  the  red  fort,  built  on  a  bluff,  and 
commanding  a  harbour  beautiful  to  look  upon,  with  its 
wooded  island,  its  sharp  high  points,  its  sombre  swamps 
covered  with  lacing  mangroves,  but  locked  from  all  the 
world  but  that  which  can  come  in  sailing  ships,  by  the 
coral  reef  on  which  so  many  craft  have  gone  to  pieces. 

From  Alexander's  high  window  in  Thomas  Mitchell's 
house,  he  could  see  the  lively  Park  behind  the  Fort ;  the 
boats  sail  over  from  the  blue  peaks  of  St.  Thomas  and  St. 
John,  the  long  white  line  of  the  sounding  reef.  Above  the 
walls  of  Government  House  was  the  high  bold  curve  of  the 
mountain  with  its  dazzling  facades,  its  glitter  of  green.  In 
the  King  Street  of  that  day  gentlemen  in  knee  breeches 
and  lace  shirts,  their  hair  in  a  powdered  queue,  were  as 
familiar  objects  as  tuibaned  blacks  and  Danes  in  uniform. 
After  riding  over  their  plantations  "to  hear  the  cane 
grow,"  they  almost  invariably  brought  up  in  town  to  talk 
over  prospects  with  the  merchants,  or  to  meet  each  other 
at  some  more  jovial  resort.  Sometimes  they  came  clatter 
ing  down  the  long  road  in  a  coach  and  four,  postilions 
shouting  at  the  pic'nees  in  the  road,  swerving,  and  halting 
so  suddenly  in  some  courtyard,  that  only  a  planter,  accus 
tomed  to  this  emotional  method  of  travel,  could  keep  his 
seat.  Ordinarily  he  preferred  his  horse,  perhaps  because 
it  told  no  tales. 

Thomas  Mitchell  had  made  his  large  fortune  in  the  traffic 
of  slaves,  and  was  on  terms  of  doubtful  courtesy  with  Peter 
Lytton,  who  disapproved  the  industry.  Blacks  were  by  no 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  81 

means  his  only  source  of  revenue ;  he  had  one  of  the  two 
large  general  stores  of  the  Island  —  the  other  was  Nicholas 
Cruger's  —  and  plantations  of  cane,  whose  yield  in  sugar, 
molasses,  and  rum  never  failed  him.  He  was  not  a  pleas 
ing  man  in  his  family,  and  did  not  extend  the  hospitality  of 
its  roof  to  Alexander  with  a  spontaneous  warmth.  His  own 
children  were  married,  and  he  did  not  look  back  upon  the 
era  of  mischievous  boys  with  sufficient  enthusiasm  to  prompt 
him  to  adopt  another.  He  yielded  to  his  wife's  voluble  sup 
plications  because  domestic  harmony  was  necessary  to  his 
content,  and  Mistress  Mitchell  had  her  ways  of  upsetting 
it.  Alexander  was  immediately  too  busy  with  his  studies 
to  pay  attention  to  the  indifferent  grace  with  which  Mr. 
Mitchell  accepted  his  lot,  and,  fortunately,  this  industrious 
merchant  was  much  away  from  home.  Hugh  Knox,  as  the 
surest  means  of  diverting  the  boy  from  his  grief,  put  him 
at  his  books  the  day  after  he  arrived  in  Christianstadt.  His 
own  house  was  on  Company  Street,  near  the  woods  out  of 
which  the  town  seemed  to  spring ;  and  in  his  cool  library 
he  gathered  his  boys  daily,  and  crammed  their  brains  with 
Latin  and  mathematics.  The  boys  had  met  at  Peter  Lyt- 
ton's  before,  but  Knox  easily  persuaded  them  to  the  new 
arrangement,  which  was  as  grateful  to  him  —  he  was  newly 
married  —  as  to  Alexander.  When  the  lessons  were  over 
he  gave  his  favourite  pupil  a  book  and  an  easy-chair,  or 
made  experiments  in  chemistry  with  him  until  it  was  cool 
enough  to  ride  or  row.  In  the  evening  Alexander  had  his 
difficult  lessons  to  prepare,  and  when  he  tumbled  into  bed 
at  midnight  he  was  too  healthy  not  to  sleep  soundly.  He 
spent  two  days  of  every  week  with  his  friend  Ned  Stevens, 
on  a  plantation  where  there  were  lively  people  and  many 
horses.  Gradually  the  heaviness  of  his  grief  sank  of  its 
weight,  the  buoyancy  and  vivacity  of  his  mind  were  released, 
the  eager  sparkle  returned  to  his  eyes.  He  did  not  cease 
to  regret  his  mother,  nor  passionately  to  worship  her  mem 
ory  ;  but  he  was  young,  the  future  was  an  unresting  magnet 
to  his  ambitious  mind,  devoted  friends  did  their  utmost, 
and  his  fine  strong  brain,  eager  for  novelty  and  know 
ledge,  opened  to  new  impressions,  closed  with  inherent  phi- 


82  THE   CONQUEROR 

losophy  to  what  was  beyond  recall.     So  passed  Rachael 
Levine. 

A  year  later  his  second  trial  befell  him.  Ned  Stevens, 
the  adored,  set  sail  for  New  York  to  complete  his  education 
at  King's  College.  Alexander  strained  his  eyes  after  the 
sails  of  the  ship  for  an  hour,  then  burst  unceremoniously 
into  the  presence  of  Hugh  Knox. 

"  Tell  me  quick,"  he  exclaimed ;  "  how  can  I  make  two 
thousand  pieces  of  eight  ?  I  must  go  to  college.  Why 
didn't  my  uncles  send  me  with  Neddy  ?  He  had  no  wish 
to  go.  He  swore  all  day  yesterday  at  the  prospect  of  six 
years  of  hard  work  and  no  more  excuses  for  laziness.  I 
am  wild  to  go.  Why  could  it  not  have  been  I  ?  " 

"That's  a  curious  way  the  world  has,  and  you'll  be  too 
big  a  philosopher  in  a  few  years  to  ask  questions  like  that. 
If  you  want  the  truth,  I've  wrangled  with  Peter  Lytton,  — 
it's  no  use  appealing  to  Tom  Mitchell, — but  he's  a  bit 
close,  as  you  know,  when  it  actually  comes  to  putting  his 
hand  in  his  pocket.  He  didn't  send  any  of  his  own  sons 
to  New  York  or  England,  and  never  could  see  why  any 
one  else  did.  Schooling,  of  course,  and  he  always  had  a 
tutor  and  a  governess  out  from  England  ;  but  what  the  devil 
does  a  planter  want  of  a  college  education  ?  I  argued  that 
I  couldn't  for  the  life  of  me  see  the  makings  of  a  planter 
in  you,  but  that  by  fishing  industriously  among  your  intel 
lects  I'd  found  a  certain  amount  of  respectable  talent,  and 
I  thought  it  needed  more  training  than  I  could  give  it ;  that 
I  was  nearing  the  end  of  my  rope,  in  fact.  Then  he  asked 
me  what  a  little  fellow  like  you  would  do  with  a  college 
education  after  you  got  it,  for  he  couldn't  stand  the  idea  of 
you  trying  to  earn  your  living  in  a  foreign  city,  where  there 
was  ice  and  snow  on  the  ground  in  winter ;  and  when  I 
suggested  that  you  might  stay  on  in  the  college  and  teach, 
if  you  were  afraid  of  being  run  over  or  frozen  to  death  in 
the  street,  he  said  there  was  no  choice  between  a  miserable 
teacher's  life  and  a  planter's,  and  he'd  leave  you  enough 
land  to  start  you  in  life.  I  cursed  like  a  planter,  and  left 
the  house.  But  he  loves  you,  and  if  you  plead  with  him 
he  might  give  way." 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  83 

"  I'd  do  anything  else  under  heaven  that  was  reasonable 
to  get  to  New  York  but  ask  any  man  for  money.  Peter 
Lytton  knows  that  I  want  learning  more  than  all  the  other 
boys  on  this  island;  and  if  I'm  little,  I've  broken  in  most 
of  his  colts  and  have  never  hesitated  to  fight.  He  finds 
his  pathos  in  his  purse.  Why  can't  I  make  two  thousand 
pieces  of  eight? " 

"  You'd  be  so  long  at  it,  poor  child,  that  it  would  be  too 
late  to  enter  college ;  for  there's  a  long  apprenticeship  to 
serve  before  you  get  a  salary.  But  you  must  go.  I've 
thought,  thought  about  it,  and  I'll  think  more."  He  almost 
wished  he  had  not  married ;  but  as  he  had  no  other  cause 
to  regret  his  venture,  even  his  interest  in  young  Hamilton 
did  not  urge  him  to  deprive  his  little  family  of  the  luxuries 
so  necessary  in  the  West  Indies.  Economy  on  his  salary 
would  mean  a  small  house  instead  of  large  rooms  where 
one  could  forget  the  heat ;  curtailment  of  the  voluminous 
linen  wardrobes  so  soon  demolished  on  the  stones  of  the 
river;  surrender  of  coach  and  horses.  He  trusted  to  a 
moment  of  sudden  insight  on  the  part  of  Peter  Lytton, 
assisted  by  his  own  eloquent  argument ;  and  his  belief  in 
Alexander's  destiny  never  wavered.  Once  he  approached 
Mrs.  Mitchell,  for  he  knew  she  had  money  of  her  own; 
but,  as  he  had  expected,  she  went  into  immediate  hysterics 
at  the  suggestion  to  part  with  her  idol,  and  he  hastily 
retreated. 

Alexander  turned  over  every  scheme  of  making  money 
his  fertile  brain  conceived,  and  went  so  far  as  to  ask  his 
aunt  to  send  him  to  New  York,  where  he  could  work  in 
one  of  the  West  Indian  houses,  and  attend  college  by  some 
special  arrangement.  He,  too,  retreated  before  Mrs.  Mit 
chell's  agitation,  but  during  the  summer  another  cause 
drove  him  to  work,  and  without  immediate  reference  to  the 
wider  education. 

Mr.  Mitchell  was  laid  up  with  the  gout  and  spent  the 
summer  on  his  plantation.  His  slaves  fled  at  the  sound  of 
his  voice,  his  wife  wept  incessantly  at  this  the  heaviest  of 
her  life's  trials,  and  it  was  not  long  before  Alexander  was 
made  to  feel  his  dependence  so  keenly  by  the  irascible 


84  THE   CONQUEROR 

planter  that  he  leaped  on  his  horse  one  day  and  galloped 
five  miles  under  the  hot  sun  to  Lytton's  Fancy. 

"  I  want  to  work,"  he  announced,  with  his  usual  breath 
less  impetuosity  when  excited,  bursting  in  upon  Mr.  Lytton, 
who  was  mopping  his  face  after  his  siesta.  "  Put  me  at 
anything.  I  don't  care  what,  except  in  Uncle  Mitchell's 
store.  I  won't  work  for  him." 

Mr.  Lytton  laughed  with  some  satisfaction.  "  So  you 
two  have  come  to  loggerheads  ?  Tom  Mitchell,  well,  is 
insufferable.  With  gout  in  him  he  must  bristle  with  every 
damnable  trait  in  the  human  category.  Come  back  and 
live  with  me,"  he  added,  in  a  sudden  burst  of  sympathy, 
for  the  boy  looked  hot  and  tired  and  dejected;  and  his 
diminutive  size  appealed  always  to  Peter  Lytton,  who  was 
six  feet  two.  "  You're  a  fine  little  chap,  but  I  doubt  you're 
strong  enough  for  hard  work,  and  you  love  your  books. 
Come  here  and  read  all  day  if  you  like.  When  you're 
grown  I'll  make  you  manager  of  all  my  estates.  Gad!  I'd 
be  glad  of  an  honest  one !  The  last  time  I  went  to  Eng 
land,  that  devil,  Tom  Collins,  drank  every  bottle  of  my 
best  port,  smashed  my  furniture,  broke  the  wind  of  every 
horse  I  had,  and  kept  open  house  for  every  scamp  and 
loafer  on  the  Island,  or  that  came  to  port.  How  old  are 
you  —  twelve?  I'll  turn  everything  over  to  you  in  three 
years.  You've  more  sense  now  than  any  boy  I  ever  saw. 
Three  years  hence,  if  you  continue  to  improve,  you'll  be  a 
man,  and  I'll  be  only  too  glad  to  put  the  whole  thing  in 
your  hands." 

Alexander  struggled  with  an  impulse  to  ask  his  uncle 
to  send  him  to  college,  but  not  only  did  pride  strike  at  the 
words,  but  he  reflected  with  some  cynicism  that  the  affec 
tion  he  inspired  invariably  expressed  itself  in  blatant  selfish 
ness,  and  that  he  might  better  appeal  to  the  enemies  he 
had  made  to  send  him  from  the  Island.  He  shook  his 
head. 

"  I'll  remain  idle  no  longer,"  he  said.  "  I'm  tired  of  eat 
ing  bread  that's  given  me.  I'd  rather  eat  yours  than  his, 
but  I've  made  up  my  mind  to  work.  What  can  you  find 
for  me  now  ?  " 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  85 

"  You  are  too  obstinate  to  argue  with  in  August.  Cruger 
wants  a  reliable  clerk.  I  heard  him  say  so  yesterday.  He'll 
take  you  if  I  say  the  word,  and  give  you  a  little  something 
in  the  way  of  salary." 

"I  like  Mr.  Cruger,"  said  Alexander,  eagerly,  "and  so 
did  my  mother." 

"  He's  a  kind  chap,  but  he'll  work  you  to  death,  for  he's 
always  in  a  funk  that  Tom  Mitchell'll  get  ahead  of  him. 
But  you  cannot  do  better.  I  have  no  house  in  town,  but 
you  can  ride  the  distance  between  here  and  Christianstadt 
night  and  morning,  if  my  estimable  brother-in-law  —  whom 
may  the  gout  convince  of  his  sins  —  is  too  much  for  you." 

But  Alexander  had  no  desire  to  return  to  the  house  where 
he  had  passed  those  last  terrible  weeks  with  his  mother, 
and  Mrs.  Mitchell  begged  him  on  her  knees  to  forgive  the 
invalid,  and  sent  him  to  the  house  in  Christianstadt,  where 
he  would  be  alone  until  December;  by  that  time,  please 
God,  Tom  Mitchell  would  be  on  his  way  to  Jamaica.  But 
Alexander  had  little  further  trouble  with  that  personage. 
Mr.  Mitchell  had  his  susceptibilities ;  he  was  charmed 
with  a  boy  of  twelve  who  was  too  proud  to  accept  the 
charity  of  wealthy  relatives  and  determined  to  make  his 
living.  Alexander  entered  Mr.  Cruger's  store  in  October. 
Mr.  Mitchell  did  not  leave  the  Island  again  until  the 
following  spring,  and  moved  to  town  in  November.  He 
and  Alexander  discussed  the  prospects  of  rum,  molasses,  and 
sugar,  the  price  of  mahogany,  of  oats,  cheese,  bread,  and 
flour,  the  various  Island  and  American  markets,  until  Mrs. 
Mitchell  left  the  table.  Her  husband  proudly  told  his 
acquaintance  that  his  nephew,  Alexander  Hamilton,  was 
destined  to  become  the  cleverest  merchant  in  the  Caribbees. 

VII 

But  Alexander  had  small  liking  for  his  employment. 
He  had  as  much  affinity  with  the  sordid  routine  of  a  gen 
eral  store  and  counting-house  as  Tom  Mitchell  had  with 
the  angels.  But  pride  and  ambition  carried  him  through 
most  of  the  distasteful  experiences  of  his  life.  He  would 


86  THE   CONQUEROR 

come  short  in  nothing,  and  at  that  tender  age,  when  his 
relatives  were  prepared  to  forgive  his  failures  with  good- 
humoured  tact,  he  was  willing  to  sacrifice  even  his  books 
to  clerical  success.  He  soon  discovered  that  he  had  that 
order  of  mind  which  concentrates  without  effort  upon  what 
ever  demands  its  powers,  —  masters  the  detail  of  it  with 
incredible  swiftness.  •  At  first  he  was  a  general  clerk,  and 
attended  to  the  loading  and  unloading  of  Mr.  Cruger's 
sloops ;  after  a  time  he  was  made  bookkeeper ;  it  was  not 
long  before  he  was  in  charge  of  the  counting-house.  He 
got  back  to  his  books  in  time  —  for  business  in  the  Islands 
finishes  at  four  o'clock  —  and  when  he  had  learned  all  the 
Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  mathematics  Hugh  Knox  could 
teach  him,  he  spent  his  leisure  hours  with  Pope,  Plutarch, 
Shakespeare,  Milton,  Plato,  and  the  few  other  English 
poets  and  works  of  Greek  philosophers  which  Knox  pos 
sessed,  as  well  as  several  abridged  histories  of  England 
and  Europe.  These  interested  him  more  than  aught  else, 
purely  literary  as  his  proclivities  were  supposed  to  be,  and 
he  read  and  reread  them,  and  longed  for  some  huge  work 
in  twenty  volumes  which  should  reveal  Europe  to  his 
searching  vision.  But  this  was  when  he  was  fourteen,  and 
had  almost  forgotten  what  the  life  of  a  mere  boy  was  like. 
Shortly  after  he  entered  Mr.  Cruger's  store  he  wrote  his 
famous  letter  to  young  Stevens.  It  will  bear  republication 
here,  and  its  stilted  tone,  so  different  from  the  concise  sim 
plicity  of  his  business  letters,  was  no  doubt  designed  to 
produce  an  effect  on  the  mind  of  his  more  fortunate  friend. 
He  became  a  master  of  style,  and  before  he  was  twenty ;  but 
there  is  small  indication  of  the  achievement  in  this  letter, 
lovable  as  it  is  :  — 

ST.  CROIX,  November  n,  1769. 

DEAR  EDWARD,  This  serves  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours 
per  Capt.  Lowndes,  which  was  delivered  me  yesterday.  The  truth 
of  Capt.  Lightbowen  and  Lowndes'  information  is  now  verified  by 
the  presence  of  your  father  and  sister,  for  whose  safe  arrival  I  pray,  and 
that  they  may  convey  that  satisfaction  to  your  soul,  that  must  naturally 
flow  from  the  sight  of  absent  friends  in  health ;  and  shall  for  news  this 
way,  refer  you  to  them. 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  87 

As  to  what  you  say,  respecting  your  soon  having  the  happiness 
of  seeing  us  all,  I  wish  for  an  accomplishment  of  your  hopes,  provided 
they  are  concomitant  with  your  welfare,  otherwise  not ;  though  doubt 
whether  I  shall  be  present  or  not,  for  to  confess  my  weakness,  Ned,  my 
ambition  is  prevalent,  so  that  I  contemn  the  grovelling  condition  of 
a  clerk,  or  the  like,  to  which  my  fortune  condemns  me,  and  would  will 
ingly  risk  my  life,  though  not  my  character,  to  exalt  my  station.  I  am 
confident,  Ned,  that  my  youth  excludes  me  from  any  hopes  of  immedi 
ate  preferment,  nor  do  I  desire  it ;  but  I  mean  to  prepare  the  way  for 
futurity.  I'm  no  philosopher,  you  see,  and  may  be  justly  said  to  build 
castles  in  the  air ;  my  folly  makes  me  ashamed,  and  beg  you'll  conceal 
it ;  yet,  Neddy,  we  have  seen  such  schemes  successful,  when  the  projec 
tor  is  constant.  I  shall  conclude  by  saying  I  wish  there  was  a  war. 

I  am,  Dear  Edward,  Yours 

ALEX.  HAMILTON, 

P.S.  I  this  moment  received  yours  by  William  Smith,  and  pleased 
to  see  you  give  such  close  application  to  study. 

He  hoped  that  in  time  Mr.  Cruger  would  find  it  neces 
sary  to  send  him  to  New  York ;  but  his  employer  found 
him  too  useful  on  St.  Croix,  and  recognized  his  abilities, 
not  to  the  extent  of  advancing  his  intellectual  interests, 
but  of  taxing  and  developing  his  capacity  for  business 
and  its  heavy  responsibilities.  In  the  following  year  he 
placed  him  in  temporary  charge  of  his  branch  house,  in 
Frederikstadt,  and  Alexander  never  wished  for  war  so 
desperately  as  when  he  stood  under  the  arcade  on  Bay 
Street  and  stared  out  at  the  shallow  green  roadstead  and 
the  illimitable  ocean  beyond.  Frederikstadt  was  a  ham 
let  compared  to  Christianstadt,  and  unredeemed  —  the 
arcades  excepting  —  by  any  of  the  capital's  architectural 
or  natural  beauty.  Alexander  believed  it  to  be  the  hottest, 
dullest,  and  most  depressing  spot  on  either  hemisphere. 
The  merchants  and  other  residents  were  astonished  that 
Nicolas  Cruger  should  send  a  lad  of  thirteen  to  represent 
him  in  matters  which  involved  large  sums  of  money,  but 
they  recognized  young  Hamilton's  ability  even  while  they 
stared  with  some  rudeness  at  the  small  figure  in  white 
linen,  and  the  keen  but  very  boyish  face.  When  they 
passed  him  under  the  arcades,  and  asked  him  what  ship 
he  expected  to  heave  in  sight,  he  was  tempted  to  say  a 


88  THE   CONQUEROR 

man-of-war,  but  had  no  mind  to  reveal  himself  to  the  in 
different.  He  read  from  sundown  until  midnight  or  later, 
by  the  light  of  two  long  candles  protected  from  draughts 
and  insects  by  curving  glass  chimneys.  Mosquitoes  tor 
mented  him  and  cockroaches  as  long  as  his  hand  ran 
over  the  table ;  occasionally  a  land-crab  rattled  across  the 
room,  or  a  centipede  appeared  on  the  open  page.  But  he 
was  accustomed  to  these  embellishments  of  tropic  life,  and 
although  he  anathematized  them  and  the  heat,  he  went 
on  with  his  studies.  It  was  about  this  time  that  he  be 
gan  to  indulge  in  literary  composition ;  and  although  less 
gifted  boys  than  Alexander  Hamilton  struggle  through  this 
phase  of  mental  development  as  their  body  runs  the  gamut 
of  juvenile  complaints,  still  it  may  be  that  had  not  his 
enormous  energies  been  demanded  in  their  entirety  by  a 
country  in  the  terrible  straits  of  rebirth,  or  had  he  dwelt  on 
earth  twenty  years  longer,  he  would  have  realized  the  ambi 
tions  of  his  mother  and  Hugh  Knox,  and  become  one  of  the 
greatest  literary  forces  the  world  has  had.  But  although 
this  exercise  of  his  restless  faculties  gave  him  pleasure, 
it  was  far  from  satisfying  him,  even  then.  He  wanted 
the  knowledge  that  was  locked  up  in  vast  libraries  far 
beyond  that  blinding  stretch  of  sea,  and  he  wanted  action, 
and  a  sight  of  and  a  part  in  the  great  world.  Meanwhile, 
he  read  every  book  he  could  find  on  the  Island,  made  no 
mistakes  in  Mr.  Cruger's  counting-house,  and  stood  dream 
ing  under  the  arcade  for  hours  at  a  time,  muttering  his 
thoughts,  his  mobile  features  expressing  the  ceaseless  ac 
tion  of  his  brain. 

Sometime  during  the  previous  year  Peter  Levine  had 
returned  to  St.  Croix  for  his  health,  and  he  remained  with 
relatives  for  some  time.  He  and  Alexander  met  occasion 
ally  and  were  friendly.  As  he  was  a  decent  little  chap 
our  hero  forgave  him  his  paternity,  although  he  never 
could  quite  assimilate  the  fact  that  he  was  his  mother's 
child. 

Alexander  returned,  after  six  months  of  Frederikstadt, 
to  the  East  End  of  the  Island.  A  few  months  later,  Mr. 
Cruger,  whose  health  had  failed,  went  to  New  York  for 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  89 

an  extended  sojourn,  leaving  the  entire  responsibility  of 
the  business  in  young  Hamilton's  hands.  Men  of  all 
ages  were  forced  to  obey  and  be  guided  by  a  boy  in  the 
last  weeks  of  his  fourteenth  year,  and  there  were  many 
manifestations  of  jealous  ill-will.  Some  loved,  others  hated 
him,  but  few  submitted  gracefully  to  a  leadership  which 
lowered  their  self-esteem.  For  the  first  time  Alexander 
learned  that  even  a  mercantile  life  can  be  interesting.  He 
exercised  all  the  resources  of  his  inborn  tact  with  those 
who  had  loved  and  those  who  did  not  hate  him,  and  won 
them  to  a  grateful  acceptance  of  a  mastership  which  was 
far  more  considerate  and  sympathetic  than  anything  they 
had  known.  As  for  his  enemies,  he  let  them  see  the 
implacable  quality  of  his  temper,  mortified  them  by  an  in 
cessant  exposure  of  their  failings,  struck  aside  their  clumsy 
attempts  to  humiliate  him  with  the  keen  blade  of  a  wit 
that  sent  them  skulking.  Finally  they  submitted,  but  they 
cursed  him,  and  willingly  would  have  wrung  his  neck  and 
flung  him  into  the  bay.  As  for  Hamilton,  there  was  no 
compromise  in  him,  even  then,  where  his  enemies  were 
concerned.  He  enjoyed  their  futile  wrath,  and  would  not 
have  lifted  his  finger  to  flash  it  into  liking. 

Only  once  the  tropical  passions  of  his  inheritance  con 
quered  his  desire  to  dominate  through  the  forces  of  his 
will  alone.  One  of  the  oldest  employees,  a  man  named 
Cutter,  had  shown  jealousy  of  young  Hamilton  from  the 
first,  and  a  few  days  after  Mr.  Cruger's  departure  began 
to  manifest  signs  of  open  rebellion.  He  did  his  work  ill, 
or  not  at  all,  absented  himself  from  the  store  for  two  days, 
and  returned  to  his  post  without  excuse,  squaring  his 
shoulders  about  the  place  and  sneering  his  contempt  of 
youthful  cocks  of  the  walk.  Alexander  struggled  to  main 
tain  a  self-control  which  he  felt  to  be  strictly  compatible 
with  the  dignity  of  his  position,  although  his  gorge  rose 
so  high  that  it  threatened  to  choke  him.  The  climax  came 
when  he  gave  Cutter  a  peremptory  order,  and  the  man 
took  out  a  cigar,  lit  it,  and  laughed  in  his  face.  For  the 
next  few  moments  Alexander  had  a  confused  impression 
that  he  was  in  hell,  struggling  his  way  through  the  roar 


90  THE   CONQUEROR 

and  confusion  of  his  nether  quarters.  When  he  was 
himself  again  he  was  in  the  arms  of  his  chief  assistant, 
and  Mr.  Cutter  bled  profusely  on  the  floor.  He  was  in 
formed  later  that  he  had  "  gone  straight  over  the  counter 
with  a  face  like  a  hurricane"  and  assaulted  his  refractory 
hireling  with  such  incredible  rapidity  of  scientific  fist  that 
the  man,  who  was  twice  his  size,  had  succumbed  from 
astonishment  and  an  almost  supernatural  terror.  Alex 
ander,  who  was  ashamed  of  himself,  apologized  at  once, 
but  gave  the  man  his  choice  of  treating  him  with  proper 
respect  or  leaving  the  store.  Cutter  answered  respectfully 
that  he  would  remain  ;  and  he  gave  no  further  trouble. 

"  You'll  get  your  head  blown  off  one  of  these  days,"  said 
Hugh  Knox  to  Alexander,  on  a  Sunday,  as  they  sat  in  the 
library  over  two  long  glasses  of  "  Miss  Blyden,"  a  fash 
ionable  drink  made  of  sugar,  rum,  and  the  juice  of  the 
prickly  pear,  which  had  been  buried  in  the  divine's  garden 
for  the  requisite  number  of  months.  "  These  Creoles  are 
hot,  even  when  they're  only  Danes.  It's  not  pleasant  for 
those  clerks,  for  it  isn't  as  if  you  had  the  look  of  the  man 
you  are.  You  look  even  younger  than  your  age,  and  for 
a  man  of  thirty  to  say  '  Yes,  sir '  to  a  brat  like  you  chokes 
him,  and  no  wonder.  I  believe  if  there  was  a  war  this 
minute,  you'd  rouse  the  Island  and  lead  it  to  battle  with 
out  a  misgiving  or  an  apology.  Well,  don't  let  your 
triumphs  lead  to  love  of  this  business.  I  happen  to  know 
that  Cruger  means  to  make  a  partner  of  you  in  a  few 
years,  for  he  thinks  the  like  of  you  never  dropped  into 
a  merchant's  counting-house ;  but  never  forget  that  your 
exalted  destiny  is  to  be  a  great  man  of  letters,  a  historian, 
belike.  You're  taking  to  history,  I  notice,  and  you're 
getting  a  fine  vocabulary  of  your  own." 

"  I'd  like  to  know  what  I'll  write  the  history  of  if  I'm  to 
rot  in  this  God-forsaken  place.  Caribs  ?  Puling  rows  be 
tween  French  and  English  ?  I'd  as  well  be  up  on  Grange 
with  my  mother,  if  it  wasn't  for  you  and  your  books.  I 
want  the  education  of  a  collegian.  I  want  to  study  and 
read  everything  there  is  to  be  studied  and  read.  I've 
made  out  a  list  of  books  to  send  for,  when  I've  money 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  91 

enough,  as  long  as  you  are.  It's  pinned  on  the  wall  of  my 
room." 

"  And  I  suppose  you've  never  a  qualm  but  that  head  of 
yours  will  hold  it  all.  You've  a  grand  opinion  of  yourself, 
Alec." 

"  That's  a  cutting  thing  for  you  to  say  to  me,  sir,"  cried 
Alexander,  springing  to  his  feet.  "  I  thought  you  loved 
me.  If  you  think  I'm  a  fool,  I'll  not  waste  more  of  your 
time." 

"  A  West  Indian  temper  beats  the  conceit  out  of  the 
Irish.  You'll  control  yours  when  you're  older,  for  there's 
nothing  you  won't  do  when  you  put  your  mind  to  it,  and 
you'll  see  the  need  for  not  making  a  fool  of  yourself  too 
often.  But  as  for  its  present  liking  for  exercise  —  it's  a 
long  way  the  liveliest  thing  on  St.  Croix.  However,  you've 
forgiven  me ;  I  know  that  by  the  twinkle  in  your  eye,  so 
I'll  tell  you  that  your  brain  will  hold  all  you  care  to  put 
into  it,  and  that  you'll  have  made  another  list  as  long  as 
King  Street  before  you're  five  years  older.  Meanwhile, 
I've  some  books  on  theology  and  ethics  you  haven't  had 
a  dash  at  yet,  and  you  can't  read  my  other  old  books  too 
often.  Each  time  you'll  find  something  new.  Sitting  up 
till  midnight  won't  hurt  you,  but  don't  forget  to  say  your 
prayers." 

Knox,  long  since,  had  laid  siege  to  Alexander's  suscep 
tible  and  ardent  mind  with  the  lively  batteries  of  his 
religious  enthusiasms.  His  favourite  pupil  was  edifyingly 
regular  in  attendance  at  church,  and  said  his  prayers  with 
much  fervour.  The  burden  of  his  petitions  was  deliver 
ance  from  St.  Croix. 

When  this  deliverance  was  effected  by  a  thunderbolt 
from  heaven,  his  saving  sense  of  humour  and  the  agitated 
springs  of  his  sympathy  forbade  a  purely  personal  appli 
cation.  But  twenty  years  later  he  might  have  reflected 
upon  the  opportune  cause  of  his  departure  from  St.  Croix 
as  one  of  the  ironies  of  the  world's  history ;  for  an  Island 
was  devastated,  men  were  ruined,  scores  were  killed,  that 
one  man  might  reach  his  proper  sphere  of  usefulness. 


92  THE   CONQUEROR 

VIII 

Early  in  August,  1772,  Mr.  Cruger  sent  him  on  a  busi 
ness  tour  to  several  of  the  neighbouring  Islands,  including 
the  great  entrepot  of  the  West  Indies,  —  St.  Thomas.  De 
spite  the  season,  the  prospect  of  no  wind  for  days  at  a 
time,  or  winds  in  which  no  craft  could  live,  Alexander 
trembled  with  delight  at  the  idea  of  visiting  the  bustling 
brilliant  versatile  town  of  Charlotte  Amalie,  in  whose  har 
bour  there  were  sometimes  one  hundred  and  eighty  ships, 
where  one  might  meet  in  a  day  men  of  every  clime,  and 
whose  beauty  was  as  famous  as  her  wealth  and  importance. 
How  often  Alexander  had  stared  at  the  blue  line  of  the 
hills  above  her !  Forty  miles  away,  within  the  range  of 
his  vision,  was  a  bit  of  the  great  world,  the  very  pivot  of 
maritime  trade,  and  one  cause  and  another  had  prevented 
him  from  so  much  as  putting  his  foot  on  a  sloop  whose 
sails  were  spread. 

As  soon  as  the  details  of  his  tour  were  settled  he  rode 
out  to  the  plantations  to  take  leave  of  his  relatives.  Mrs. 
Mitchell,  who  barred  the  hurricane  windows  every  time 
the  wind  rose  between  July  and  November,  and  sat  with 
the  barometer  in  her  hand  when  the  palms  began  to  bend, 
wept  a  torrent  and  implored  him  to  abstain  from  the  mad 
ness  of  going  to  sea  at  that  time  of  the  year.  Her  distress 
was  so  acute  and  real  that  Alexander,  who  loved  her,  for 
got  his  exultation  and  would  have  renounced  the  trip,  had 
he  not  given  his  word  to  Mr.  Cruger. 

"  I'll  be  careful,  and  I'll  ride  out  the  day  after  I  return," 
he  said,  arranging  his  aunt  on  the  sofa  with  her  smelling- 
bottle,  an  office  he  had  performed  many  times.  "You 
know  the  first  wind  of  the  hurricane  is  a  delight  to  the 
sailor,  and  we  never  shall  be  far  from  land.  I'm  in  com 
mand,  and  I'll  promise  you  to  make  for  shore  at  the  first 
sign  of  danger.  Then  I  shall  be  as  safe  as  here." 

His  aunt  sighed  for  fully  a  minute.  "  If  I  only  could 
believe  that  you  would  be  careful  about  anything.  But 
you  are  quite  a  big  boy  now,  almost  sixteen,  and  ought  to 
be  old  enough  to  take  care  of  yourself." 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  93 

"  If  I  could  persuade  you  that  I  am  not  quite  a  failure 
at  keeping  the  breath  in  my  body  we  both  should  be  hap 
pier.  However,  I  vow  not  to  set  sail  from  any  island  if  a 
hurricane  is  forming,  and  to  make  for  port  every  time  the 
wind  freshens." 

"  Listen  for  that  terrible  roar  in  the  southeast,  and  take 
my  barometer — Heaven  knows  what  barometers  are  made 
for  ;  there  are  not  three  on  the  Island.  I  shall  drive  in  to 
church  every  Sunday  and  besiege  Heaven  with  my  suppli 
cations." 

"  Well,  spare  me  a  breeze  or  I  shall  pray  for  a  hurri 
cane." 

He  did  not  see  Mrs.  Lytton  or  James,  but  Mr.  Lytton 
had  scant  apprehension  of  hurricanes,  and  was  only  con 
cerned  lest  his  nephew  roll  about  in  the  trough  of  the 
sea  under  an  August  sun  for  weeks  at  a  time.  "That's 
when  a  man  doesn't  repent  of  his  sins ;  he  knows  there 
is  nothing  worse  to  come,"  he  said.  "  I'd  rather  have  a 
hurricane,"  and  Alexander  nodded.  Mr.  Lytton  counted 
out  a  small  bag  of  pieces  of  eight  and  told  the  boy  to 
buy  his  aunt  a  silk  gown  in  Charlotte  Amalie.  "  I've 
noticed  that  if  it's  all  one  colour  you're  not  so  sure  to 
have  it  accepted  with  a  sigh  of  resignation,"  he  said. 
"  But  be  careful  of  plaids  and  stripes."  And  Alexander, 
with  deeper  misgivings  than  Mrs.  Mitchell  had  inspired, 
accepted  the  commission  and  rode  away. 

He  set  sail  on  the  following  day,  and  made  his  tour  of 
the  lesser  islands  under  a  fair  breeze.  Late  in  the  month 
he  entered  the  harbour  of  St.  Thomas,  and  was  delighted 
to  find  at  least  fifty  ships  in  port,  despite  the  season.  It 
was  an  unusually  busy  year,  and  he  had  dared  to  hope  for 
crowded  waters  and  streets  ;  exquisite  as  Charlotte  Amalie 
might  be  to  look  upon,  he  wanted  something  more  than  a 
lovely  casket. 

The  town  is  set  on  three  conical  foot-hills,  which  bulge 
at  equal  distances  against  an  almost  perpendicular  moun 
tain,  the  tip,  it  is  said,  of  a  range  whose  foundations  are 
four  miles  below.  The  three  sections  of  the  town  sweep 
from  base  to  pointed  apex  with  a  symmetry  so  perfect, 


94  THE   CONQUEROR 

their  houses  are  so  light  and  airy  of  architecture,  so  brill 
iant  and  varied  of  colour,  that  they  suggest  having  been 
called  into  being  by  the  stroke  of  a  magician's  wand  to 
gratify  the  whim  of  an  Eastern  potentate.  Surely,  they 
are  a  vast  seraglio,  a  triple  collection  of  pleasure  houses 
where  captive  maidens  are  content  and  nautch  girls  dance 
with  feet  like  larks.  Business,  commerce,  one  cannot  as 
sociate  with  this  enchanting  vista ;  nor  cockroaches  as  long 
as  one's  foot,  scorpions,  tarantulas,  and  rats. 

When  Alexander  was  in  the  town  he  found  that  the 
houses  were  of  stone,  and  that  one  long  street  on  the  level 
connected  the  three  divisions.  Flights  of  steps,  hewn  out 
of  the  solid  rock  of  that  black  and  barren  range,  led  to  the 
little  palaces  that  crowned  the  cones,  and  there  were  palms, 
cocoanuts,  and  tamarind  trees  to  soften  the  brilliancy  of 
facade  and  roof.  Above  the  town  was  Blackbeard's  Cas 
tle  ;  and  Bluebeard's  so  high  on  the  right  that  its  guns 
could  have  levelled  the  city  in  an  hour.  Although  not 
a  hundred  years  old,  and  built  by  the  Danes,  both  these 
frowning  towers  were  museums  of  piratical  tradition,  and 
travellers  returned  to  Europe  with  imaginations  expanded. 

The  long  street  interested  Alexander's  practical  mind 
more  than  legends  or  architecture.  Huge  stone  buildings 
—  warehouses,  stores,  exchange-  and  counting-houses — • 
extended  from  the  street  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  where 
ships  were  unloaded  and  loaded  from  doors  at  the  rear. 
Men  of  every  nation  and  costume  moved  in  that  street ; 
and  for  a  day  Mr.  Cruger's  business  was  in  abeyance, 
while  the  boy  from  the  quiet  Island  of  St.  Croix  leaned 
against  one  of  the  heavy  tamarind  trees  at  the  foot  of  the 
first  hill,  and  watched  the  restless  crowd  of  Europeans, 
Asiatics,  Cubans,  Puerto  Ricans,  North  and  South  Ameri 
cans.  There  were  as  many  national  costumes  as  there 
were  rival  flags  in  the  harbour.  There  was  the  British 
admiral  in  his  regimentals  and  powdered  queue,  the 
Chinaman  in  his  blouse  and  pigtail,  the  Frenchman  with 
his  earrings,  villanous  Malays,  solemn  merchants  from 
Boston,  and  negroes  trundling  barrows  of  Spanish  dol 
lars.  But  it  was  the  extraordinary  assortment  of  faces 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  95 

and  the  violent  contrasts  of  temperament  and  character 
they  revealed  which  interested  Alexander  more  than  aught 
else.  With  all  his  reading  he  had  not  imagined  so  great 
a  variety  of  types  ;  his  mental  pictures  had  been  the  uncon 
scious  reflection  of  British,  Danish,  or  African.  Beyond 
these  he  had  come  in  contact  with  nothing  more  striking 
than  sailors  from  the  neighbouring  Islands,  who  had  sug 
gested  little  besides  the  advisability  of  placing  an  extra 
guard  over  the  money  boxes  whilst  they  were  in  port. 
Most  of  these  men  who  surged  before  him  were  merchants 
of  the  first  rank  or  the  representatives  of  others  as  impor 
tant, —  captains  of  large  ships  and  their  mates.  The  last 
sauntered  and  cursed  the  heat,  which  was  infernal ;  but 
the  merchants  moved  rapidly  from  one  business  house  to 
another,  or  talked  in  groups,  under  the  tamarind  trees,  of 
the  great  interests  which  brought  them  to  the  Indies. 
Upon  the  inherent  characteristics  which  their  faces  ex 
pressed  were  superimposed  the  different  seals  of  those 
acquired,  —  shrewdness,  suspicion,  a  hawk-like  alertness, 
the  greed  of  acquisition.  Alexander,  with  something  like 
terror  of  the  future,  reflected  that  there  was  not  one  of 
these  men  he  cared  to  know.  He  knew  there  were  far 
greater  cities  than  the  busy  little  entrepot  of  the  West 
Indies,  but  he  rightly  doubted  if  he  ever  should  see  again 
so  cosmopolitan  a  mob,  a  more  picked  assortment  of  repre 
sentative  types.  Not  one  looked  as  if  he  remembered  his 
wife  and  children,  his  creed,  or  the  art  and  letters  of  his 
land.  They  were  a  sweating,  cursing,  voluble,  intriguing, 
greedy  lot,  picturesque  to  look  upon,  profitable  to  study, 
calculated  to  rouse  in  a  boy  of  intellectual  passions  a  fury 
of  final  resentment  against  the  meannesses  of  commercial 
life.  Alexander  jerked  his  shoulders  with  disgust  and 
moved  slowly  down  the  street.  After  he  had  reflected 
that  great  countries  involved  great  ideas,  and  that  there 
was  no  place  for  either  political  or  moral  ideals  in  an 
isolated  and  purely  commercial  town  like  little  Charlotte 
Amalie,  he  recovered  his  poise,  and  lent  himself  to  his 
surroundings  again  with  considerable  philosophy. 

He  had  almost  crossed  the  foot  of  the  third  hill  when  he 


96  THE   CONQUEROR 

turned  abruptly  into  a  large  store,  unlike  any  he  had  seen. 
It  was  full  of  women,  splendid  creatures,  who  were  bar 
gaining  with  merchants'  clerks  for  the  bales  of  fine  stuffs 
which  had  been  opened  for  the  display  of  samples  to  the 
wholesale  buyers  from  other  Islands.  These  women  pur 
chased  the  exiled  stuffs  to  sell  to  the  ladies  of  the  capital, 
and  this  was  the  only  retail  trade  known  to  the  St.  Thomas 
of  that  day.  Alexander  bethought  himself  of  his  uncle's 
commission,  and  precipitately  bought  from  the  open  bale 
nearest  the  door,  then,  from  the  next,  a  present  for  Mrs. 
Mitchell.  Mrs.  Lytton,  who  was  an  invalid  and  fifty-eight, 
received,  a  fortnight  later,  a  dress  pattern  of  rose-coloured 
silk,  and  Mrs.  Mitchell,  who  aspired  to  be  a  leader  of 
fashion,  one  of  elderly  brown.  But  Alexander  was  more 
interested  in  the  sellers  than  in  the  possible  dissatisfaction 
of  his  aunts.  The  women  of  his  acquaintance  were  fair 
and  fragile,  and  the  Africans  of  St.  Croix  were  particularly 
hideous,  being  still  of  parent  stock.  But  these  creatures 
were  tawny  and  magnificent,  with  the  most  superb  figures, 
the  most  remarkable  swing,  that  ever  a  man  had  looked 
upon ;  and  glorious  eyes,  sparkling  with  deviltry.  On 
their  heads  the  white  linen  was  wound  to  a  high  point  and 
surmounted  by  an  immense  hat,  caught  up  at  one  side  with 
a  flower.  They  wore  for  clothing  a  double  skirt  of  coloured 
linen,  and  a  white  fichu,  open  in  a  point  to  the  waist  and 
leaving  their  gold-coloured  arms  quite  bare.  They  moved 
constantly,  if  only  from  one  foot  to  the  other.  Occasionally 
their  eyes  flashed  sparks,  and  they  flew  at  each  other's 
throats,  screeching  like  guinea  fowl,  but  in  a  moment  they 
were  laughing  good-naturedly  again,  and  chattering  in 
voices  of  a  remarkable  soft  sweetness.  Several  of  them 
noticed  Alexander,  for  his  beauty  had  grown  with  his  years. 
His  eyes  were  large  and  gray  and  dark,  like  his  mother's, 
but  sparkled  with  ardour  and  merriment.  His  mouth 
was  chiselled  from  a  delicate  fulness  to  a  curving  line ; 
firm  even  then,  but  always  humorous,  except  when 
some  fresh  experience  with  the  ingenuous  self-interest  of 
man  deepened  the  humour  to  cynicism.  The  nose  was 
long,  sharply  cut,  hard,  strong  in  the  nostrils,  the  head 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON  97 

massive,  the  brow  full  above  the  eyes,  and  the  whole  of  a 
boyish  and  sunburned  fairness.  He  could  fetch  a  smile 
that  gave  his  face  a  sweet  and  dazzling  beauty.  His  figure 
was  so  supple  and  well  knit,  so  proud  in  its  bearing,  that 
no  woman  then  or  later  ever  found  fault  with  its  inconsider 
able  inches ;  and  his  hands  and  feet  were  beautiful.  His 
adoring  aunt  attended  to  his  wardrobe,  and  he  wore  to-day, 
as  usual,  white  linen  knee-breeches,  black  silk  stockings, 
a  lawn  shirt  much  beruffled  with  lace.  His  appearance 
pleased  these  gorgeous  birds  of  plumage,  and  one  of 
them  snatched  him  suddenly  from  the  floor  and  gave  him 
a  resounding  smack.  Alexander,  much  embarrassed,  but 
not  wholly  displeased,  retreated  hurriedly,  and  asked  an 
Englishman  who  they  were  and  whence  they  came. 

"  They  are  literally  the  pick  of  Martinique,  Cuba,  Puerto 
Rico,  and  the  other  Islands  celebrated  for  beautiful  women. 
Of  course  they've  all  got  a  touch  of  the  tar  brush  in  them, 
but  the  French  or  the  Spanish  blood  makes  them  glorious 
for  a  few  years,  and  during  those  few  they  come  here  and 
make  hay.  Some  come  at  certain  seasons  only,  others 
perch  here  till  they  change  in  a  night  from  houri  to  hag. 
This  daylight  trade  gives  them  a  raison  d'etre,  but  wait  till 
after  dark.  God !  this  is  a  hell  hole ;  but  by  moonlight 
or  torchlight  this  street  is  one  of  the  sights  of  the  earth. 
The  magnificent  beauty  of  the  women,  enhanced  by  silken 
stuffs  of  every  colour,  the  varied  and  often  picturesque 
attire  of  the  men,  all  half  mad  with  drink  —  well,  if  you 
want  to  sleep,  you'd  better  get  a  room  high  up." 

"  Mine  is  up  one  hundred  and  seventeen  steps.  I  am 
but  afraid  I  may  not  see  all  there  is  to  see." 

But  before  the  week  was  half  out  he  had  tired  of  St. 
Thomas  by  day  and  by  night.  The  picture  was  too  one 
sided,  too  heavily  daubed  with  colour.  It  made  a  palette 
of  the  imagination,  sticky  and  crude.  He  began  to  desire 
the  green  plantations  of  St.  Croix,  and  more  than  ever  he 
longed  for  the  snow-fields  of  the  north.  Two  days  of 
hard  work  concluded  Mr.  Cruger's  business,  and  on  the 
thirtieth  of  the  month  he  weighed  anchor,  in  company  with 
many  others,  and  set  sail  for  St.  Croix.  He  started  under 


98  THE   CONQUEROR 

a  fair  breeze,  but  a  mile  out  the  wind  dropped,  and  he  was 
until  midnight  making  the  harbour  of  Christianstadt.  When 
they  were  utterly  becalmed  the  sun  seemed  to  focus  his  hell 
upon  the  little  sloop.  It  rolled  sickeningly  in  the  oily 
wrinkled  waters,  and  Alexander  put  his  Pope  in  his  pocket. 
The  sea  had  a  curious  swell,  and  he  wondered  if  an  earth 
quake  were  imminent.  The  sea  was  not  quite  herself 
when  her  foundations  were  preparing  to  shake.  Earth 
quakes  had  never  concerned  him,  but  as  the  boat  drifted 
past  the  reef  into  the  harbour  of  Christianstadt  at  midnight, 
he  was  assailed  by  a  fit  of  terror  so  sudden  and  unaccount 
able  that  he  could  recall  but  one  sensation  in  his  life  that 
approached  it:  shortly  after  he  arrived  on  the  Island  he 
had  stolen  down  to  the  lagoon  one  night,  fascinated  by  the 
creeping  mist,  the  scowling  manchineels,  the  talk  of  its 
sinister  inhabitant,  and  was  enjoying  mightily  his  new 
feeling  of  creeping  terror,  when  the  silence  was  broken  by 
a  heavy  swish,  and  he  saw  the  white  belly  of  the  shark  not 
three  feet  from  him.  He  had  scampered  up  the  hill  to  his 
mother's  skirts  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him,  nor 
visited  the  lagoon  again  until  the  shark  was  mouldering 
on  its  bed.  To-night  a  mist,  almost  imperceptible  except 
on  the  dark  line  of  coast,  changed  the  beauty  of  the 
moonbeams  to  a  livid  light  that  gave  the  bay  the  horrid 
pallor  of  a  corpse.  The  masses  of  coral  rock  in  the  shal 
low  waters  looked  leprous,  the  surface  was  so  glassy  that 
it  fell  in  splinters  from  the  oars  of  the  boat  that  towed 
them  to  shore.  There  was  not  a  sound  from  the  reef,  not 
a  sound  from  the  land.  The  slender  lacing  mangroves  in 
the  swamp  looked  like  upright  serpents,  black  and  petri 
fied,  and  the  Fort  on  the  high  bluff  might  have  been  a 
sarcophagus  full  of  dead  men  but  for  the  challenge  of  the 
sentry. 

Alexander  began  to  whistle,  then  climbed  down  into  the 
boat  and  took  an  oar.  When  he  had  his  feet  on  land  he 
walked  up  King  Street  more  hastily  than  was  his  habit  in 
the  month  of  August.  But  here,  although  the  town  might 
have  been  a  necropolis,  so  quiet  was  it,  it  had  not  put  on 
a  death  mask.  There  was  no  mist  here ;  the  beautiful 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  99 

coral  houses  gleamed  under  the  moonbeams  as  if  turned 
to  marble,  and  Alexander  forgot  the  horror  of  the  waters 
and  paused  to  note,  as  he  had  done  many  times  before, 
the  curious  Alpine  contrast  of  these  pure  white  masses 
against  the  green  and  burnished  arches  of  tropic  trees. 
Then  he  passed  through  the  swimming-bath  to  his  bed, 
and  a  half-hour  later  slept  as  soundly  as  if  the  terrible 
forces  of  the  Caribbean  world  were  safe  in  leash. 

IX 

When  he  awoke,  at  seven  o'clock,  he  heard  a  dull  low 
roar  in  the  southeast,  which  arrested  his  attention  at  once 
as  a  sound  quite  dissimilar  from  the  boom  of  the  reef.  As 
he  crossed  Strand  Street  to  Mr.  Cruger's  store,  an  hour 
later,  he  noticed  that  a  strong  wind  blew  from  the  same 
direction  and  that  the  atmosphere  was  a  sickly  yellow. 
For  a  moment,  he  thought  of  the  hurricane  which  he  had 
passed  his  life  expecting,  but  he  had  a  head  full  of  business 
and  soon  forgot  both  roar  and  wind.  He  was  immediately 
immersed  in  a  long  and  precise  statement  of  his  trip,  writ 
ing  from  notes  and  memory,  muttering  to  himself,  utterly 
oblivious  to  the  opening  of  the  windows  or  the  salutations 
of  the  clerks.  Mr.  Cruger  arrived  after  the  late  breakfast. 
He  looked  worried,  but  shook  Alexander's  hand  heartily,  and 
thanked  heaven,  with  some  fervour,  that  he  had  returned 
the  night  before.  They  retired  to  the  private  office  on  the 
court,  and  Mr.  Cruger  listened  with  interest  to  young 
Hamilton's  account  of  his  trip,  although  it  was  evident 
that  his  mind  felt  the  strain  of  another  matter.  He  said 
abruptly :  — 

"  The  barometer  was  down  two-tenths  when  I  visited  the 
Fort  at  a  quarter  to  eleven,  I'd  give  a  good  deal  to  know 
where  it  is  now." 

Alexander  remembered  his  aunt's  barometer,  which  he 
had  hung  in  his  room  before  sailing,  and  volunteered  to 
go  over  and  look  at  it. 

"Do,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Cruger;  "and  see  if  the  wind's 
shifted." 


ioo  THE   CONQUEROR 

As  Alexander  crossed  Strand  Street  to  the  side  door  oi 
Mr.  Mitchell's  house  he  encountered  the  strongest  wind 
he  had  ever  known,  and  black  clouds  were  racing  back 
and  forth  as  if  lost  and  distracted.  He  returned  to  tell 
Mr.  Cruger  that  the  barometer  stood  at  30.03. 

"  And  the  wind  hasn't  shifted  ?  "  demanded  Mr.  Cruger. 
"  That  means  we'll  be  in  the  direct  path  of  a  hurricane 
before  the  day  is  half  out,  unless  things  change  for  the 
better.  If  the  barometer  falls  four-tenths"  —he  spread 
out  his  hands  expressively.  "  Of  course  we  have  many 
scares.  Unless  we  hear  two  double  guns  from  the  Fort, 
there  will  be  no  real  cause  for  alarm ;  but  when  you  hear 
that,  get  on  your  horse  as  quick  as  you  can  and  ride  to 
warn  the  planters.  The  Lyttons  and  Stevens  and  Mitchells 
will  do  for  you.  I'll  send  out  three  of  the  other  boys." 

They  returned  to  accounts.  Mr.  Cruger  expressed  his 
gratification  repeatedly  and  forgot  the  storm,  although  the 
wind  was  roaring  up  King  Street  and  rattling  the  jalousies 
until  flap  after  flap  hung  on  a  broken  hinge.  Suddenly 
both  sprang  to  their  feet,  books  and  notes  tumbling  to  the 
floor.  Booming  through  the  steady  roar  of  the  wind  was 
the  quick  thunder  of  cannon,  four  guns  fired  in  rapid 
succession. 

As  Alexander  darted  through  the  store,  the  clerks  were 
tumbling  over  each  other  to  secure  the  hurricane  windows  ; 
for  until  the  last  minute,  uneasy  as  they  were,  they  had 
persuaded  themselves  that  St.  Croix  was  in  but  for  the 
lashing  of  a  hurricane's  tail,  and  had  bet  St.  Kitts  against 
Monserrat  as  flattening  in  the  path  of  the  storm.  The 
hurricane  windows  were  of  solid  wood,  clamped  with  iron. 
It  took  four  men  to  close  them  against  the  wind. 

Alexander  was  almost  flung  across  Strand  Street.  Shingles 
were  flying,  the  air  was  salt  with  spray  skimmed  by  the  wind 
from  the  surface  of  waves  which  were  leaping  high  above 
the  Fort,  rain  was  beginning  to  fall.  Mr.  Mitchell's  stables 
were  in  the  rear  of  his  house.  Every  negro  had  fled  to  the 
cellar.  Alexander  unearthed  four  and  ordered  them  to  close 
the  hurricane  windows.  He  had  saddled  many  a  horse,  and 
he  urged  his  into  Strand  Street  but  a  few  moments  later. 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  101 

Here  he  had  to  face  the  wind  until  he  could  reach  the 
corner  and  turn  into  King,  and  even  the  horse  staggered 
and  gasped  as  if  the  breath  had  been  driven  out  of  him. 
He  reared  back  against  the  wall,  and  Alexander  was  obliged 
to  dismount  and  drag  him  up  the  street,  panting  for  breath 
himself,  although  his  back  was  to  the  wind  and  he  kept  his 
head  down.  The  din  was  terrific.  Cannon  balls  might  have 
been  rattling  against  the  stones  of  every  house,  and  to  this 
was  added  a  roar  from  the  reef  as  were  all  the  sounds  of 
the  Caribbean  Sea  gathered  there.  Alexander  would  have 
pulled  his  hat  down  over  his  ears,  for  the  noise  was  madden 
ing,  but  it  had  flown  over  the  top  of  a  house  as  he  left  the 
store.  He  was  a  quarter  of  an  hour  covering  the  few  yards 
which  lay  between  the  stable  and  the  corner,  and  when  he 
reached  the  open  funnel  of  King  Street  he  was  nearly  swept 
off  his  feet.  Fortunately  the  horse  loved  him,  and,  terrified 
as  it  was,  permitted  him  to  mount ;  and  then  it  seemed  to 
Alexander,  as  they  flew  up  King  Street  to  the  open  country, 
that  they  were  in  a  fork  of  the  wind,  which  tugged  and 
twisted  at  his  neck  while  it  carried  them  on.  He  flattened 
himself  to  the  horse,  but  kept  his  eyes  open  and  saw  other 
messengers,  as  dauntless  as  himself,  tearing  in  various 
directions  to  warn  the  planters,  many  of  whom  had  grown 
callous  to  the  cry  of  "  Wolf." 

The  horse  fled  along  the  magnificent  avenue  of  royal 
palms  which  connected  the  east  and  west  ends  of  the 
Island.  They  were  bending  and  creaking  horribly,  the 
masses  of  foliage  on  the  summits  cowering  away  from 
the  storm,  wrapping  themselves  about  in  a  curiously  piti 
ful  manner ;  the  long  blade-like  leaves  seemed  striving 
each  to  protect  the  other.  Through  the  ever-increasing 
roar  of  the  storm,  above  the  creaking  of  the  trees,  the 
pounding  of  the  rain  on  the  earth,  and  on  the  young  cane, 
Alexander  heard  a  continuous  piercing  note,  pitched  upon 
one  monotonous  key,  like  the  rattle  of  a  girl's  castinets  he 
had  heard  on  St.  Thomas.  His  brain,  indifferent  now  to 
the  din,  was  as  active  as  ever,  and  he  soon  made  out  this 
particular  noise  to  be  the  rattle  of  millions  of  seeds  in  the 
dry  pods  of  the  "shaggy-shaggy,"  or  "giant,"  a  common 


102  THE   CONQUEROR 

Island  tree,  which  had  not  a  leaf  at  this  season,  nothing 
but  countless  pods  as  dry  as  parchment  and  filled  with 
seeds  as  large  as  peas.  Not  for  a  second  did  this  castinet 
accompaniment  to  the  stupendous  bass  of  the  storm  cease, 
and  Alexander,  whose  imagination,  like  every  other  sense 
in  him,  was  quickening  preternaturally,  could  fancy  him 
self  surrounded  by  the  orchestra  of  hell,  the  colossal  in 
struments  of  the  infernal  regions  performed  upon  by 
infuriate  Titans.  He  was  not  conscious  of  fear,  although 
he  knew  that  his  life  was  not  worth  a  second's  purchase, 
but  he  felt  a  wild  exhilaration,  a  magnificent  sense  of  de 
fiance  of  the  most  powerful  element  that  can  be  turned 
loose  on  this  planet ;  his  nostrils  quivered  with  delight ;  his 
soul  at  certain  moments,  when  his  practical  faculty  was 
uncalled  upon,  felt  as  if  high  in  the  roaring  space  with  the 
Berserkers  of  the  storm. 

Suddenly  his  horse,  in  spite  of  the  wall  of  wind  at  his 
back,  stood  on  his  hind  legs,  then  swerved  so  fiercely  that 
his  rider  was  all  but  unseated.  A  palm  had  literally 
leaped  from  the  earth,  sprawled  across  the  road  not  a  foot 
in  front  of  the  horse.  The  terrified  brute  tore  across  the 
cane-field,  and  Alexander  made  no  attempt  to  stop  him,  for, 
although  the  rain  was  now  falling  as  if  the  sea  had  come 
in  on  the  high  back  of  the  wind,  he  believed  himself  to  be 
on  the  Stevens  plantation.  The  negro  village  was  not  yet 
deserted,  and  he  rode  to  the  west  side  of  the  mill  and 
shouted  his  warning  to  the  blacks  crouching  there.  On 
every  estate  was  a  great  bell,  hung  in  an  open  stone  belfry,. 
and  never  to  be  rung  except  to  give  warning  of  riot,  flood, 
fire,  or  hurricane.  One  of  the  blacks  obeyed  Alexander's 
peremptory  command  to  ring  this  bell,  and,  as  it  was  under 
the  lee  of  the  mill,  reached  it  in  a  moment.  As  Alexander 
urged  his  horse  out  into  the  storm  again,  he  heard  the 
rapid  agitated  clang  of  the  bell  mingle  discordantly  with 
the  bass  of  the  wind  and  the  piercing  rattle  of  the  giant's 
castinets.  He  rode  on  through  the  cane-field,  although 
if  the  horse  stumbled  and  injured  itself,  he  would  have  to 
lie  on  his  face  till  the  storm  was  over.  But  there  was 
a  greater  danger  in  the  avenue ;  he  was  close  enough 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  103 

to  see  and  hear  tree  after  tree  go  down,  or  their  necks 
wrenched  and  the  great  green  heads  rush  through  the  air 
with  a  roar  of  their  own,  their  long  glittering  leaves  ex 
tended  before  them  as  if  in  supplication. 

The  Lytton  plantation  was  next  on  his  way,  and  Alex 
ander  rode  straight  for  the  house,  as  the  mills  and  village 
lay  far  to  the  left.  The  hurricane  shutters  on  the  sides  en 
countering  the  storm  were  already  closed,  and  he  rode 
round  to  the  west,  where  he  saw  his  uncle's  anxious  face  at 
a  drawing-room  window.  Mr.  Lytton  flung  himself  across 
the  sash  in  an  attempt  to  lift  the  boy  from  his  horse  into 
the  room,  and  when  Alexander  shouted  that  he  was  on  his 
way  to  the  Mitchell  estate,  expostulated  as  well  as  he  could 
without  breaking  his  throat.  He  begged  him  to  rest  half 
an  hour  at  least,  but  when  informed  that  the  Fort  for  the 
first  time  within  the  memory  of  man  had  fired  its  double 
warning,  he  ran  to  fasten  his  hurricane  windows  more 
securely,  and  despatch  a  slave  to  warn  his  blacks ;  their 
huts  never  would  survive  the  direct  attack  of  a  hurricane. 
He  was  horrified  to  think  of  his  favourite  exposed  to  a 
fury,  which,  clever  and  intrepid  as  he  was,  he  had  small 
chance  of  outwitting ;  but  at  least  he  had  that  one  chance, 
and  Mrs.  Mitchell  was  alone. 

Alexander  passed  through  one  other  estate  before  he 
reached  Mr.  Mitchell's,  terrifying  those  he  warned  almost 
as  much  by  his  wild  and  ragged  appearance  —  his  long 
hair  drove  straight  before  him,  and  his  thin  shirt  was  in 
sodden  ribbons  —  as  by  his  news  that  a  first-class  hurri 
cane  was  upon  them.  At  last  he  was  in  the  cane-fields  of 
his  destination,  and  the  horse,  as  if  in  communication  with 
that  ardent  brain  so  close  to  his  own,  suddenly  accelerated 
his  already  mercurial  pace,  until  it  seemed  to  Alexander 
that  he  gathered  up  his  legs  and  darted  like  an  inflated 
swallow  straight  through  crashing  avenues  and  flying  huts 
to  the  stable  door.  Fortunately  this  solid  building  opened 
to  the  west,  and  Alexander  was  but  a  few  moments  stalling 
and  feeding  the  animal  who  had  saved  two  necks  by  his 
clever  feet  that  day.  He  was  sorry  so  poorly  to  reward 
him  as  to  close  and  bar  the  door,  but  he  feared  that  he 


io4  THE   CONQUEROR 

might  forget  to  attend  to  it  when  the  hurricane  veered,  and 
in  all  the  fury  of  approaching  climax  was  pouring  out  of 
the  west. 

The  house  was  only  an  eighth  of  a  mile  away,  but  Alex 
ander  was  half  an  hour  reaching  it.  He  had  to  travel  on 
his  knees,  sometimes  on  his  stomach,  until  he  reached  the 
western  wall,  keeping  his  arm  pressed  close  against  his 
eyes ;  his  sense  of  humour,  not  to  be  extinguished  by  a 
hurricane,  rebelling  at  the  ignoble  pass  to  which  his  pride 
had  come.  When  he  reached  the  north  wall  he  rose,  think 
ing  he  could  cling  to  the  projections,  but  he  was  still  facing 
the  storm ;  he  flung  himself  prostrate  again  to  avoid  being 
lifted  off  his  feet  and  sailing  with  the  rubbish  of  Mr. 
Mitchell's  plantation.  As  he  reached  the  corner  the  wind 
gave  him  a  vicious  flip,  which  landed  him  almost  at  the  foot 
of  the  steps,  but  he  was  comparatively  safe,  and  he  sat 
down  to  recover  his  breath.  He  could  afford  a  few  mo 
ments'  rest,  for  the  heavy  wooden  windows  facing  the  east, 
north,  and  south,  were  closed.  Here  he  was  sheltered  in 
a  way.  The  only  two  good  words  that  can  be  said  for  a 
hurricane  are  that  it  gives  sufficient  warning  of  its  approach, 
and  that  it  blows  from  one  point  of  the  compass  at  a  time. 
Alexander  sat  there  panting  and  watched  the  wild  battle 
in  mid-air  of  shingles,  fences,  thatched  roofs,  and  tree-tops ; 
listened  to  the  artillery  of  the  storm,  which,  with  a  stone 
building  to  break  its  steady  roar,  sounded  as  if  a  hundred 
cannon  were  bombarding  the  walls  and  rattling  here  and 
there  on  their  carriages  meanwhile ;  listened  to  crash  after 
crash  of  tree  and  wall,  the  terrified  bowlings  and  bellowings 
of  beasts,  the  shrieking  and  grinding  of  trees,  the  piercing 
monotone  of  the  dry  seeds  in  their  cases  of  parchment, 
the  groans  and  prayers  of  the  negroes  in  the  cellar  behind 
him.  He  turned  his  head  and  looked  through  the  windows 
of  the  great  apartment,  which,  although  above  ground, 
was  supposed  to  be  safest  in  a  hurricane.  All  but  the 
western  blinds  being  closed,  the  cellar"  was  almost  dark, 
but  Alexander  knew  that  it  was  packed :  doubtless  every 
African  on  the  estate  was  there ;  he  could  see,  for  some 
distance  back,  row  after  row  of  rolling  eyes  and  hanging 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  105 

tongues.  Some  knelt  on  the  shoulders  of  others  to  get  the 
air.  Alexander  shuddered.  The  sight  reminded  him  of 
his  uncle's  slave-ships,  where  the  blacks  came,  chained 
together,  standing  in  the  hold,  so  closely  packed  that  if 
one  died  he  could  not  fall,  nor  the  others  protect  them 
selves  from  the  poisons  of  a  corpse,  which  pressed  hard 
against  the  living  for  twenty  hours  perhaps,  before  it  was 
unchained  and  flung  to  the  sharks.  Alexander  went  close 
to  one  of  the  windows  and  shouted  to  them  not  to  forget  to 
secure  the  western  blinds  when  the  lull  came,  then  ran  up 
the  steps  and  vaulted  through  an  open  window.  It  was  a 
few  minutes  before  he  found  his  aunt,  and  it  must  be  re 
corded  that  on  his  way  to  the  front  of  the  house  he  looked 
under  two  beds  and  into  four  wardrobes.  He  came  upon 
her  in  the  drawing-room,  valiantly  struggling  with  a  hurri 
cane  window.  Her  hair  was  dishevelled,  and  her  eyes 
bulged  with  horror,  but  even  as  Alexander  came  to  the 
rescue,  she  shoved  the  bar  into  place.  Then  she  threw 
herself  into  his  arms  and  fainted.  He  had  but  time  to 
fling  water  on  her  face,  when  a  loud  rattle  from  another 
window  sent  him  bounding  to  it,  and  for  ten  minutes  he 
struggled  to  fasten  the  blind  soundly  again,  while  it  seemed 
to  him  that  a  hundred  malignant  fingers  were  tugging  at 
its  edge.  He  had  no  sooner  secured  it,  than  his  aunt's 
voice  at  his  ear  begged  him  to  try  every  window  on  three 
sides  of  the  house,  and  he  went  rapidly  from  one  to  the 
other,  finding  most  of  them  in  need  of  attention  —  long 
disuse  had  weakened  both  staples  and  hooks.  His  aunt 
trotted  after  him,  thumping  every  window,  and  reminding 
him  that  if  one  went,  and  the  wind  burst  in,  the  roof  would 
be  off  and  the  torrents  upon  them  before  they  could  reach 
the  cellar. 

Fortunately  for  those  who  fought  the  storm,  the  temper 
ature  had  fallen  with  the  barometer,  and  these  two  dared 
not  relax  their  vigilance  for  a  moment.  Every  negro  had 
deserted  to  the  lower  region.  Alexander  was  unable  to 
change  his  wet  clothes  or  to  refresh  himself  with  so  much 
as  a  banana,  but  there  was  not  a  second's  time  to  think  of 
hunger  or  discomfort.  More  than  once  that  sense  of  wild 


io6  THE   CONQUEROR 

exultation  in  fighting  a  mighty  element  possessed  him.  His 
own  weak  hands  and  a  woman's  weaker  against  one  of 
the  Titanic  hurricanes  of  the  world's  history,  with  a  pros 
pect  of  winning  the  fight,  was  a  sight  to  move  comfortable 
gods  to  paean  or  laughter,  according  to  their  spiritual  de 
velopment. 

But  during  much  of  that  terrible  day  and  night  Alex 
ander's  brain  was  obliged  to  work  on  device  after  device 
to  strengthen  those  battered  boards  which  alone  protected 
the  house  from  destruction,  its  inmates,  perhaps,  from 
death.  A  tamarind  tree  came  down  on  a  corner  of  the 
roof  with  a  crash ;  and  when  Mrs.  Mitchell  and  Alexander 
reached  the  room,  which  was  in  a  wing,  the  rain  was  strug 
gling  past  the  heavy  mass  through  a  hole  in  the  roof.  They 
closed  up  the  room,  as  well  as  the  jalousies  of  the  inner 
walls,  but  as  they  returned  to  the  windows  they  heard 
the  rain  fighting  to  pass  the  branches,  and  knew  that  if 
the  wind  snatched  the  tree,  the  deluge  would  come  in. 

Mrs.  Mitchell  neither  fainted  again  nor  exhibited  other 
sign  of  fear.  While  that  hurricane  lasted  she  was  all  Mary 
Fawcett ;  and  Alexander,  meeting  her  eyes  now  and  again, 
or  catching  sight  of  her  as  she  darted  forward  at  the  first 
rattle  of  a  shutter,  recalled  his  mother's  many  anecdotes 
of  his  redoubtable  grandmother,  and  wondered  if  that  val 
iant  old  soul  had  flown  down  the  storm  to  the  relief  of  the 
fortress. 

Toward  evening  that  sudden  lull  came  which  means  that 
at  last  the  besieged  are  in  the  very  centre  of  the  hurricane, 
and  will  have  respite  while  the  monster  is  swinging  his  tail 
to  the  west.  Alexander  and  Mrs.  Mitchell,  after  opening 
the  windows  on  the  east  side  of  the  house,  and  securing 
those  opening  to  the  west,  went  to  the  pantry  and  made  a 
substantial  meal  without  sitting  or  selecting.  To  his  last 
day  Alexander  could  not  remember  what  he  ate  that  night, 
although  he  recalled  the  candle  in  the  long  chimney,  the 
constant  craning  of  his  aunt's  head,  the  incessant  racing 
of  the  rats  along  the  beams.  He  went  to  his  room  and 
took  a  cold  bath,  which  with  the  food  and  suspended 
excitement  quite  refreshed  him  ;  put  on  dry  clothes,  nailed 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  107 

a  board  against  the  hole  in  the  roof,  then  sat  down  with 
Mrs.  Mitchell  in  the  western  gallery  to  await  the  hurricane's 
return. 

"  We  have  three  windows  where  we  had  one  before," 
remarked  Mrs.  Mitchell ;  "  and  the  hinges  of  that  door  are 
rusty.  God  knows  !  If  you  had  not  come,  the  roof  would 
have  gone  long  before  this." 

"  The  silence  is  horrible,"  said  Alexander. 

It  was,  indeed,  earsplitting.  Not  a  sound  arose  from 
that  devastated  land.  Birds  and  beasts  must  lie  dead  by  the 
thousand;  not  a  horseman  ventured  abroad;  not  a  whisper 
came  from  the  cellar,  where  two  hundred  Africans  might 
be  dead  from  fright  or  suffocation.  Mrs.  Mitchell  had  lit 
the  candles,  and  there  was  something  sinister  and  ironical 
in  the  steady  flames.  How  long  before  they  would  leap 
and  add  the  final  horror  to  what  must  be  a  night  of  hor 
rors  ?  It  was  impossible  to  work  in  the  dark,  but  every 
yellow  point  was  a  menace. 

They  had  not  long  to  endure  the  silence.  This  time  the 
hurricane  sent  no  criers  before  it.  It  burst  out  of  the  west 
with  a  fury  so  intensified  that  Alexander  wondered  if  one 
stone  in  Frederikstadt  were  left  upon  another.  It  was  evi 
dent  that  it  had  gathered  its  forces  for  a  final  assault,  and  its 
crashing  and  roaring,  as  it  tore  across  the  unhappy  Island 
it  had  marked  for  destruction,  was  that  of  a  gigantic  wheel 
whirling  ten  thousand  cannon,  exploding,  and  lashing 
each  other  in  mid-air.  It  seemed  to  Alexander  that  every 
ball  they  surely  carried  rattled  on  the  roof,  and  the  heavy 
stone  structure  vibrated  for  the  first  time.  It  was  two 
hours  before  he  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  met  again,  for  they 
worked  at  opposite  ends  of  the  long  gallery ;  but  in  the 
third  both  rushed  simultaneously  to  the  door.  It  sprang 
back  from  its  rusty  fastenings,  and  they  were  but  in  time 
to  seize  the  bar  which  passed  through  a  staple  in  its 
middle,  and  pull  it  inward  until  it  pressed  hard  against  the 
jamb  on  the  right.  There  was  no  other  wav  to  secure  it, 
and  for  three  hours  Alexander  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  dragged 
at  it  alternately,  while  the  other  attended  to  the  windows. 
By  this  time  Alexander  had  ceased  to  wonder  if  he  should 


io8  THE   CONQUEROR 

see  another  morning,  or  much  to  care :  the  storm  was  so 
magnificent  in  its  almighty  power,  its  lungs  of  iron  bellowed 
its  purpose  with  such  furious  iteration,  as  if  out  of  all  pa 
tience  with  the  mortals  who  defied  it,  that  Alexander  was 
almost  inclined  to  apologize.  More  than  once  it  took  the 
house  by  the  shoulders  and  shook  it,  and  then  a  yell  would 
come  from  below,  a  simultaneous  note  pitched  in  a  key  of 
common  agony.  Suddenly  the  house  seemed  to  spring 
from  its  foundations,  then  sink  back  as  if  to  collapse.  Al 
exander  called  out  that  it  had  been  uprooted  and  would  go 
down  the  hill  in  another  moment,  but  Mrs.  Mitchell,  who 
was  at  the  bar,  muttered,  "  An  earthquake.  I  believe  a 
hurricane  shakes  the  very  centre  of  the  earth." 

They  feared  that  the  foundations  of  the  house  had  been 
loosened,  and  that  the  next  blast  would  turn  it  over,  but 
the  house  was  one  of  the  strongest  in  the  Caribbees,  built 
to  withstand  the  worst  that  Nature  could  do,  so  long  as 
man  saw  to  its  needs  ;  and  when  the  hurricane  at  last  re 
volved  its  artillery  away  into  the  east,  carrying  with  it  that 
piercing  rattle  of  the  giant's  castinets,  which  never  for  a 
moment  had  ceased  to  perform  its  part,  roof  and  walls  were 
firm.  Mrs.  Mitchell  and  Alexander  sank  where  they  had 
stood,  and  slept  for  twenty  hours. 

X 

Alexander  rode  back  to  Christianstadt  two  days  later, 
and  again  and  again  he  drew  a  hard  breath  and  closed  his 
eyes.  It  was  a  sight  to  move  any  man,  and  the  susceptible 
and  tender  nature  of  young  Hamilton  bled  for  the  tragedy 
of  St.  Croix.  There  was  not  a  landmark,  not  a  cane-field, 
to  remind  him  that  it  was  the  beautiful  Island  on  which  he 
had  spent  the  most  of  his  remembering  years.  Although 
all  of  the  Great  Houses  were  standing,  their  mien  and  man 
ner  were  so  altered  by  the  disappearance  of  their  trees  and 
outbuildings,  and  by  the  surrounding  pulpy  flats  in  place 
of  the  rippling  acres  of  young  cane,  that  they  were  unrec 
ognizable.  Here  and  there  were  masses  of  debris,  walls 
and  thatched  roofs  swept  far  from  the  village  foundations ; 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  109 

but  as  a  rule  there  was  but  a  board  here  or  a  bunch  of 
dried  leaves  there,  a  battered  utensil  or  a  stool,  to  reward 
the  wretched  Africans  who  wandered  about  searching  for 
the  few  things  they  had  possessed  before  the  storm.  They 
looked  hopeless  and  dull,  as  if  their  faculties  had  been 
stunned  by  the  prolonged  incessant  noise  of  the  hurricane. 

Alexander  was  riding  down  what  a  week  ago  had  been 
the  most  celebrated  avenue  in  the  Antilles.  Where  there 
were  trees  at  all,  they  were  headless,  the  long  gray  twisted 
trunks  as  repulsive  as  they  had  once  been  beautiful.  The 
road  was  littered  with  many  of  the  fallen ;  but  others  were 
far  away  in  what  had  been  the  cane-fields,  serpents  and  liz 
ards  sunning  themselves  on  the  dead  roots.  Even  stone 
walls  were  down,  and  under  them,  sometimes,  were  men. 
Mills  were  in  ruins ;  for  no  one  had  remained  to  keep 
bars  in  their  staples.  Tanks  of  last  year's  rum  and 
treacle  had  been  flung  through  the  walls,  and  their  odours 
mingled  with  the  stench  of  decomposing  men  and  cattle. 
The  horrid  rattle  of  the  land-crab  was  almost  the  only 
sound  in  that  desolate  land.  "  The  Garden  of  the  Antilles  " 
looked  like  a  putrid  swamp,  and  she  had  not  a  beauty  on 
her. 

Alexander  turned  at  a  cross-road  into  a  path  which 
led  through  the  Grange  estate  to  the  private  burying- 
ground  of  the  Lyttons.  These  few  moments  taxed  his 
courage  more  heavily  than  the  ride  with  the  hurricane 
had  done,  and  more  than  once  he  opened  his  clenched 
teeth  and  half  turned  his  horse's  head.  But  he  went 
on,  and  before  long  he  had  climbed  to  the  end  of  his 
journey.  The  west  wall  of  the  little  cemetery  had  been 
blown  out,  and  the  roof  of  old  James  Lytton's  tomb  lay 
with  its  debris.  A  tree,  which  evidently  had  been  lorn  from 
the  earth  and  flung  from  a  distance,  lay  half  in  and  half 
out  of  the  enclosure.  But  his  mother's  headstone,  which 
stood  against  the  north  wall,  was  undisturbed,  although 
the  mound  above  her  was  flat  and  sodden.  The  earth  had 
been  strong  enough  to  hold  her.  Alexander  remembered 
its  awful  air  of  finality  as  it  opened  to  receive  her,  then 
closed  over  her.  What  he  had  feared  was  that  the  burying- 


no  THE   CONQUEROR 

ground,  which  stood  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  would  have  been 
uprooted  and  scattered  over  the  cane-fields. 

He  rode  on  to  Christianstadt.  There  the  evidences  of 
the  hurricane  were  less  appalling,  for  the  houses,  standing 
close  together,  had  protected  each  other,  and  only  two  were 
unroofed  ;  but  everywhere  the  trees  looked  like  twisted 
poles,  the  streets  and  gardens  were  full  of  rubbish,  and 
down  by  the  bay  the  shore  was  strewn  with  the  wreckage 
of  ships  ;  the  Park  behind  the  Fort  was  thick  with  decaying 
fish,  which  the  blacks  were  but  just  now  sweeping  out  to 
the  water. 

After  Alexander  had  ascertained  that  Mr.  Mitchell's 
house  was  quite  unharmed,  although  a  neighbour  had  lost 
half  a  roof  and  been  deluged  in  consequence,  he  walked 
out  Company  Street  to  see  how  it  had  fared  with  Hugh 
Knox.  That  worthy  gentleman  was  treating  his  battered 
nerves  with  weak  whiskey  and  water  when  he  caught  sight 
of  Alexander  through  the  library  window.  He  gave  a  shout 
that  drew  an  exasperated  groan  through  the  ceiling,  flung 
open  the  door,  and  clasped  his  beloved  pupil  in  his  arms. 

"  I  knew  you  were  safe,  because  you  are  you,  although 
I've  been  afraid  to  ask  if  you  were  dead  or  alive.  Cruger 
sent  out  three  others  to  warn  the  planters,  and  they've  all 
been  brought  home,  one  dead,  one  maimed,  one  with  chills 
and  fever  and  as  mad  as  a  March  hare.  Good  God  !  what 
a  visitation !  I'd  rather  have  been  on  a  moving  bog  in 
Ireland.  You  wouldn't  have  ridden  out  in  that  hurricane 
if  I'd  got  you,  not  if  I'd  been  forced  to  tie  you  up.  Fancy 
your  being  here  alive,  and  not  even  a  cold  in  your  head ! 
But  you've  a  grand  destiny  to  work  out,  and  the  hurricane 
—  which  I  believe  was  the  Almighty  in  a  temper — knew 
what  it  was  about.  Now  tell  me  your  experience.  I'm 
panting  to  tell  you  mine.  I've  not  had  a  soul  to  talk  to 
since  the  hour  it  started.  The  Missis  behaved  like  a  Tro 
jan  while  it  lasted,  then  went  to  bed,  and  hasn't  spoken  to 
me  since;  and  as  for  everyone  else  in  Christianstadt  — 
well,  they've  retired  to  calm  their  nerves  in  the  only  way, 
—  prayer  first  and  whiskey  after." 

Alexander  took  possession  of   his  own  easy-chair  and 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  in 

looked  gratefully  around  the  room.  The  storm  had  not 
disturbed  it,  neither  had  a  wench's  duster.  Since  his 
mother's  death  he  had  loved  this  room  with  a  more  grate 
ful  affection  than  any  mortal  had  inspired,  well  as  he  loved 
his  aunt,  Hugh  Knox,  and  Neddy.  But  the  room  did  not 
talk,  and  the  men  who  had  written  the  great  books  which 
made  him  indifferent  to  his  island  prison  for  days  and 
weeks  at  a  time,  were  dead,  and  their  selfishness  was  buried 
with  them. 

Meanwhile  Knox,  forgetting  his  desire  to  hear  the  expe 
rience  of  his  guest,  was  telling  his  own.  It  was  sufficiently 
thrilling,  but  not  to  be  compared  with  that  of  the  planter's ; 
and  when  he  had  finished,  Alexander  began  with  some 
pride  to  relate  his  impressions  of  the  storm.  He,  too,  had 
not  talked  for  three  days ;  his  heart  felt  warm  again ;  and 
in  the  familiar  comfortable  room,  the  terrible  picture  of 
the  hurricane  seemed  to  spring  sharp  and  vivid  from  his 
memory ;  he  had  recalled  it  confusedly  hitherto,  and  made 
no  effort  to  live  it  again.  Knox  leaned  forward  eagerly, 
dropping  his  pipe ;  Alexander  talked  rapidly  and  brill 
iantly,  finally  springing  to  his  feet,  and  concluding  with  an 
outburst  so  eloquent  that  his  audience  cowered  and  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands.  For  some  moments  Knox  sat 
thinking,  then  he  rose  and  pushed  a  small  table  in  front 
of  Alexander,  littering  it  with  pencils  and  paper,  in  his 
untidy  fashion. 

"  My  boy,"  he  said,  "you're  still  hot  with  your  own  elo 
quence.  Before  you  cool  off,  I  want  you  to  write  that 
down  word  for  word  as  you  told  it  to  me.  If  it  twisted 
my  very  vitals,  it  will  give  a  similar  pleasure  to  others. 
'Twould  be  selfish  to  deny  them.  When  it's  done,  I'll 
send  it  to  Tiebout.  Now  I'll  leave  you,  and  if  my  niggers 
are  still  too  demoralized  to  cook  supper  for  you,  I'll  do  it 
myself." 

Alexander,  whose  brain,  in  truth,  felt  on  fire,  for  every 
nerve  had  leapt  to  the  recreating  of  that  magnificent 
Force  that  had  gathered  an  island  into  the  hollow  of  its 
hand,  crushed,  and  cast  it  back  to  the  waters,  dashed  at 
the  paper  and  wrote  with  even  more  splendour  than  he 


ii2  THE   CONQUEROR 

had  spoken.  When  he  had  finished,  he  was  still  so  excited 
that  he  rushed  from  the  house  and  walked  till  the  hideous 
sights  and  smells  drove  him  home.  He  was  quivering  with 
the  ecstasy  of  birth,  and  longed  for  another  theme,  and 
hours  and  days  of  hot  creation.  But  he  was  to  be  spared 
the  curse  of  the  "artistic  temperament." 

XI 

The  description  of  the  hurricane  went  to  St.  Christopher 
by  sloop  two  days  later  (there  were  no  English  papers  on 
St.  Croix),  and  was  not  heard  from  for  two  weeks.  Mean 
while  Alexander  forgot  it,  as  writers  have  a  way  of  for 
getting  their  infants  of  enthusiastic  delivery.  There  was 
much  to  do  on  St.  Croix.  The  negroes  were  put  at  once 
to  rebuilding  and  repairing,  and  masters,  as  well  as  over 
lookers  and  agents,  were  behind  them  from  morning  till 
night.  Mr.  Mitchell  had  not  returned,  and  Alexander  was 
obliged  to  take  charge  of  his  estates.  When  he  was  not 
galloping  from  village  to  village  and  mill  to  mill,  driving 
the  sullen  blacks  before  him,  or  routing  them  out  of  ruins 
and  hollows,  where  they  huddled  in  a  demoralized  stupor, 
he  was  consoling  his  aunt  for  the  possible  sacrifice  of  Mr. 
Mitchell  to  the  storm.  Alexander  was  quite  confident  that 
the  hurricane  had  spared  Tom  Mitchell,  whomsoever  else 
it  may  have  devoured,  but  his  logic  did  not  appeal  to  his 
aunt,  who  wept  whenever  he  was  there  to  offer  his  arm 
and  shoulder.  At  other  times  she  bustled  about  among 
her  maids,  who  were  sewing  industriously  for  the  afflicted. 

Alexander  was  grateful  for  the  heavy  task  Mr.  Mitchell's 
absence  imposed,  for  there  was  no  business  doing  in  Chris- 
tianstadt,  and  his  nerves  were  still  vibrating  to  the  storm 
he  had  fought  and  conquered.  His  rigorous  self-control 
was  gone,  his  suppressed  energies  and  ambitions  were 
quick  and  imperious,  every  vial  of  impatience  and  disgust 
was  uncorked.  As  he  rode  through  the  hot  sunlight  or 
moved  among  the  Africans,  coaxing  and  commanding, 
getting  more  work  out  of  them  by  his  gay  bright  manner 
than  the  overlookers  could  extract  with  their  whips,  his 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  113 

brain  was  thumping  with  plans  of  delivery  from  a  life 
which  he  hated  so  blackly  that  he  would  wrench  himself 
free  of  it  before  the  year  was  out  if  he  had  to  ship  as  a 
common  sailor  for  New  York.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the 
vacancies  in  his  brain  ached.  His  imagination  was  hot 
with  the  future  awaiting  him  beyond  that  cursed  stretch 
of  blinding  water.  For  the  first  time  he  fully  realized  his 
great  abilities,  knew  that  he  had  in  him  the  forces  that 
make  history.  All  the  encouragement  of  his  mother  and 
Hugh  Knox,  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  such  men 
as  Mr.  Cruger,  the  spoiling  of  his  relatives,  and  his  easy 
conquest  or  equally  flattering  antagonism  of  the  youth  of 
the  Island,  had  fostered  his  self-confidence  without  per 
suading  him  that  he  was  necessarily  a  genius.  Strong  as 
his  youthful  ambitions  had  been,  burning  as  his  desire  for 
more  knowledge,  much  in  his  brain  had  been  dormant,  and 
a  humorous  philosophy,  added  to  the  sanguineness  of 
youth  and  a  deep  affection  for  a  few  people,  had  enabled 
him  to  bear  his  lot  with  unbroken  cheerfulness.  But  the 
clashing  forces  of  the  Universe  had  roused  the  sleeping 
giant  in  his  brain  and  whirled  his  youth  away.  His  only 
formulated  ambition  was  to  learn  first  all  that  schools  could 
teach  him,  then  lead  great  armies  to  battle.  Until  the  day 
of  his  death  his  desire  for  military  excitement  and  glory 
never  left  him,  and  at  this  time  it  was  the  destiny  which 
heated  his  imagination.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  roar 
and  rattle  of  the  hurricane,  in  whose  lead  he  had  managed 
to  maintain  himself  unharmed,  were  the  loud  prophecy  of 
battle  and  conquest.  At  the  same  time,  he  knew  that  other 
faculties  and  demands  of  his  brain  must  have  their  way, 
but  he  could  only  guess  at  their  nature,  and  statesmanship 
was  the  one  achievement  that  did  not  occur  to  him ;  the 
American  colonies  were  his  only  hope,  and  there  was  no 
means  by  which  he  could  know  their  wrongs  and  needs. 
Such  news  came  seldom  to  the  West  Indies,  and  Knox 
retained  little  interest  in  the  country  where  he  had 
sojourned  so  short  a  while.  And  at  this  time  their  strug 
gle  hardly  would  have  appealed  to  young  Hamilton  had  he 
known  of  it.  He  was  British  by  instinct  and  association, 
i 


H4  THE    CONQUEROR 

and  he  had  never  received  so  much  as  a  scratch  from  the 
little-finger  nail  of  the  distant  mother,  whose  long  arm  was 
rigid  above  her  American  subjects. 

His  deliverance  was  so  quick  and  sudden  that  for  a  day 
or  two  he  was  almost  as  dazed  as  the  Africans  after  the 
hurricane.  One  day  Hugh  Knox  sent  him  out  a  copy  of 
the  St.  Christopher  newspaper  which  had  published  his 
description  of  the  storm.  With  some  pride  in  his  first 
born;  he  read  it  aloud  to  his  aunt.  Before  he  was  halfway 
down  the  first  column  she  was  on  the  sofa  with  her  smell 
ing  salts,  vowing  she  was  more  terrified  than  when  she  had 
expected  to  be  killed  every  minute.  When  he  had  finished 
she  upbraided  him  for  torturing  people  unnecessarily,  but 
remarked  that  he  was  even  cleverer  than  she  had  thought 
him.  The  next  morning  she  asked  him  to  read  it  again ; 
then  read  it  herself.  On  the  following  day  Hugh  Knox 
rode  out. 

Alexander  was  at  one  of  the  mills.  Knox  told  Mrs. 
Mitchell  that  he  had  sent  a  copy  of  the  newspaper  to  the 
Governor  of  St.  Croix,  who  had  called  upon  him  an  hour 
'later  and  insisted  upon  knowing  the  name  of  the  writer. 
Knox  not  only  had  told  him,  but  had  expanded  upon  Alex 
ander's  abilities  and  ambitions  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
Governor  at  that  moment  was  with  Peter  Lytton,  endeav 
ouring  to  persuade  him  to  open  his  purse-strings  and  send 
the  boy  to  college. 

"  He  will  not  do  all,"  added  Knox,  "  and  I  rely  upon 
you  to  do  the  rest.  Between  you,  Alexander  can  get,  first 
the  education  he  wants  now  more  than  anything  in  life, 
then  the  chance  to  make  a  great  reputation  among  men. 
If  you  keep  him  here  you're  no  better  than  criminals,  and 
that's  all  I  have  to,  say." 

Mrs.  Mitchell  shuddered.  "  Do  you  think  he  really 
wants  to  go  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Do  I  think  he  wants  to  go !  "  roared  Hugh  Knox. 
"  Do  I  think  —  Good  God !  why  he's  been  mad  to  go  for 
five  years.  He'd  have  thought  of  nothing  else  if  he  hadn't 
a  will  like  a  bar  of  iron  made  for  a  hurricane  door,  and  he'd 
have  grown  morbid  about  it  if  he  hadn't  been  blest  with  a 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  115 

cheerful  and  a  sanguine  disposition.  You  adore  him,  and 
you  couldn't  see  that !  " 

"He  .-.ever  said  much  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Mitchell, 
meekly ;  "  but  I  think  I  can  see  now  that  you  are  right. 
It  will  make  me  ill  to  part  with  him,  but  he  ought  to  go, 
and  if  Peter  Lytton  will  pay  half  his  expenses,  I'll  pay  the 
other  half,  and  keep  him  in  pocket  coin  besides.  Of  course 
Tom  won't  give  a  penny,  but  I  have  something  of  my  own, 
and  he  is  welcome  to  it.  Do  have  everything  arranged  be 
fore  my  husband's  return.  He  is  alive  and  well.  I  had  a 
letter  from  him  by  the  sloop  that  came  from  St.  Kitts,  and 
he'll  be  here  by  the  next  or  the  one  after." 

As  soon  as  Knox  had  gone  Mrs.  Mitchell  ordered  her 
coach  and  drove  to  Lytton's  Fancy.  Her  love  for  Alex 
ander  had  struggled  quite  out  of  its  fond  selfishness,  and 
she  determined  that  go  to  New  York  he  should  and  by  the 
next  ship.  She  found  her  brother-in-law  meditating  upon 
the  arguments  of  the  Governor,  and  had  less  difficulty  in 
persuading  him  than  she  had  anticipated. 

"I'm  sorry  we  haven't  sent  him  before,"  he  said  finally. 
"  For  if  two  men  like  Walsterstorff  and  Knox  think  so 
highly  of  him,  and  if  he  can  write  like  that,  — it  gave  me  the 
horrors,  —  he  ought  to  have  his  chance,  and  this  place  is 
too  small  for  him.  I'll  help  you  to  keep  him  at  college 
until  he's  got  his  education,  —  and  it  will  take  him  less 
time  than  most  boys  to  get  it,  —  and  then  he'll  be  able  to 
take  care  of  "himself.  If  he  sails  on  Wednesday,  there's 
no  produce  to  send  with  him  to  sell ;  but  I've  silver,  and  so 
have  you,  and  he  can  take  enough  to  keep  him  until  the 
Island  is  well  again.  We'll  do  the  thing  properly,  and  he 
shan't  worry  for  want  of  plenty." 

When  Alexander  came  home  that  evening  he  was  in 
formed  that  the  world  had  turned  round,  and  that  he  stood 
on  its  apex. 

XII 

The  night  before  he  sailed  he  rode  out  to  the  Grange 
estate.  The  wall  of  the  cemetery  had  been  repaired, 
James  Lytton's  slab  was  in  its  place,  the  tree  had  been 


n6  THE   CONQUEROR 

removed,  and  he  had  rebuilt  the  mound  above  his  mother 
as  soon  as  the  earth  was  firm  again.  There  was  no  evi 
dence  of  the  hurricane  here.  The  moon  was  out,  and  in 
her  mellow  bath  the  Island  had  the  beauty  of  a  desert. 
Alexander  leaned  his  elbows  on  the  wall  and  stared  down 
at  his  mother's  grave.  He  knew  that  he  never  should  see 
it  again.  What  he  was  about  to  do  was  for  good  and  all. 
He  would  no  more  waste  months  returning  to  this  remote 
Island  than  he  would  turn  back  from  any  of  the  goals  of 
his  future.  And  it  mattered  nothing  to  the  dead  woman 
there.  If  she  had  an  immortal  part,  it  would  follow  him, 
and  she  had  suffered  too  much  in  life  for  her  dust  to  re 
sent  neglect.  But  he  passionately  wished  that  she  were 
alive  and  that  she  were  sailing  with  him  to  his  new  world. 
He  had  ceased  to  repine  her  loss,  much  to  miss  her,  but 
his  sentiment  for  her  was  still  the  strongest  in  his  life,  and 
as  a  companion  he  had  found  no  one  to  take  her  place. 
To-night  he  wanted  to  talk  to  her.  He  was  bursting  with 
hope  and  anticipation  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  mere 
change,  but  he  was  close  to  melancholy. 

Suddenly  he  bent  his  head.  From  the  earth  arose  the 
golden  music  of  a  million  tiny  bells.  They  had  hung  rusty 
and  warped  since  the  hurricane,  but  to-night  they  rang 
again,  and  as  sweetly  as  on  the  night,  seventeen  years  ago, 
when  their  music  filled  the  Universe,  and  two  souls,  whose 
destiny  it  was  to  bring  a  greater  into  the  world,  were 
flooded  with  a  diviner  music  than  that  fairy  melody.  Alex 
ander  knew  nothing  of  that  meeting  of  his  parents,  when 
they  were  but  a  few  years  older  than  he  was  to-night,  but 
the  inherited  echo  of  those  hours  when  his  own  soul 
awaited  its  sentence  may  have  stirred  in  his  brain,  for  he 
stood  there  and  dreamed  of  his  mother  and  father  as  they 
had  looked  and  thought  when  they  had  met  and  loved ; 
and  this  he  had  never  done  before.  The  tireless  little 
ringers  filled  his  brain  with  their  Lilliputian  clamour,  and 
his  imagination  gave  him  his  parents  in  the  splendour  of 
their  young  beauty  and  passion.  For  the  first  time  he 
forgave  his  father,  and  he  had  a  deep  moment  of  insight : 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  life  was  bare  before  him.  He  was 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  117 

to  have  many  of  these  cosmic  moments,  for  although  his 
practical  brain  relied  always  on  hard  work,  never  on  inspi 
ration,  his  divining  faculty  performed  some  marvellous 
feats,  and  saved  him  from  much  plodding ;  but  he  never 
had  a  moment  of  insight  which  left  a  profounder  impres 
sion  than  this.  He  understood  in  a  flash  the  weakness  of 
the  world,  and  his  own.  At  first  he  was  appalled,  then 
he  pitied,  then  he  vibrated  to  the  thrill  of  that  exultation 
which  had  possessed  his  mother  the  night  on  the  moun 
tain  when  she  made  up  her  mind  to  outstay  her  guests. 
And  then  the  future  seemed  to  beckon  more  imperiously 
to  the  boy  for  whose  sake  she  had  remained,  the  radiant 
image  of  his  parents  melted  in  its  crucible,  and  the  world 
was  flooded  with  a  light  which  revealed  more  than  the 
smoke  of  battlefields  and  the  laurels  of  fulfilled  ambition. 

XIII 

On  the  following  day,  as  Alexander  stood  on  the  wharf 
with  his  tearful  relatives  and  friends,  Hugh  Knox  detached 
him  from  Mrs.  Mitchell  and  led  him  aside. 

"  Alec,"  he  said,  "  I've  two  pieces  of  parting  advice  for 
you,  and  I  want  you  to  put  them  into  the  pocket  of  your 
memory  that's  easiest  to  find.  Get  a  tight  rein  on  that 
temper  of  yours.  It's  improved  in  the  last  year,  but  there's 
room  yet.  That's  the  first  piece.  This  is  the  second  :  keep 
your  own  counsel  about  the  irregularity  of  your  birth,  unless 
someone  asks  you  point-blank  who  has  the  right ;  if  any 
one  else  does,  knock  him  down  and  tell  him  to  go  to  hell 
with  his  impertinence.  And  never  let  it  hit  your  courage 
in  the  vitals  for  a  moment.  You  are  not  accountable ;  your 
mother  was  the  finest  woman  I  ever  knew,  and  you've  got 
the  best  blood  of  Britain  in  your  veins,  and  not  a  relative 
in  the  world  who's  not  of  gentle  blood.  You're  an  aristo 
crat  in  body  and  brain,  and  you'll  not  find  a  purer  in  the 
American  colonies.  The  lack  of  a  priest  at  the  right  time 
can  cause  a  good  deal  of  suffering  and  trouble,  but  it  can't 
muddy  a  pure  stream  ;  and  many  a  lawful  marriage  has 
done  that.  So,  mind  you  never  bring  your  head  down  for 


n8  THE   CONQUEROR 

a  minute,  nor  persuade  yourself  that  anyone  has  a  better 
right  to  keep  it  up.  It  would  be  the  death  of  you." 

Alexander  nodded,  but  did  not  reply.  He  was  feeling 
very  low,  now  that  the  hour  for  parting  was  come,  for  his 
affections  were  strong  and  tender,  and  they  were  all  rooted 
in  the  Island  he  hated.  He  understood,  however. 

He  was  six  weeks  reaching  Boston,  for  even  the  wind 
seemed  to  have  had  the  life  beaten  out  of  it.  He  had  a 
box  of  Knox's  books,  which  he  was  to  return  by  the  Cap 
tain  ;  and  although  he  had  read  them  before,  he  read  them 
again,  and  wrote  commentaries,  and  so  kept  his  mind  occu 
pied  for  the  greater  part  of  the  voyage.  But  an  active 
brain,  inexperienced  in  the  world,  and  in  no  need  of  rest, 
is  always  bored  at  sea,  and  he  grew  sick  of  the  sight  of 
that  interminable  blue  waste ;  of  which  he  had  seen  too 
much  all  his  life.  When  he  had  learned  all  there  was  to 
know  about  a  ship,  and  read  all  his  books,  he  burned  for 
change  of  any  sort.  The  change,  when  it  came,  was  near 
to  making  an  end  of  him  :  the  ship  caught  fire,  and  they 
were  a  day  and  a  night  conquering  the  flames  and  pre 
paring  their  philosophy  to  meet  death ;  for  the  boats  were 
unseaworthy.  Alexander  had  all  the  excitement  he  wanted, 
for  he  fought  the  fire  as  hard  as  he  had  fought  the  hurri 
cane,  and  he  was  delighted  when  the  Captain  gave  him 
permission  to  turn  in.  This  was  his  third  touch-and-go 
with  death. 

He  arrived  in  Boston  late  in  October,  and  took  passage 
immediately  for  New  York.  There  had  been  no  time  to 
announce  his  coming,  and  he  was  obliged  to  find  his  own 
way  to  the  house  of  Hercules  Mulligan,  a  member  of  the 
West  Indian  firm,  to  whom  Mr.  Cruger  had  given  him  a 
warm  letter  of  introduction.  Mr.  Mulligan,  a  good-natured 
Irishman,  received  him  hospitably,  and  asked  him  to  stop 
in  his  modest  house  until  his  plans  were  made.  Alexander 
accepted  the  invitation,  then  started  out  in  search  of  his 
friend,  Ned  Stevens,  but  paused  frequently  to  observe  the 
queer,  straggling,  yet  imposing  little  city,  the  red  splendour 
of  the  autumn  foliage ;  above  all,  to  enjoy  the  keen  and 
frosty  air.  All  his  life  he  had  longed  for  cold  weather.  He 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  119 

had  anticipated  it  daily  during  his  voyage,  and,  although 
he  had  never  given  way  to  the  natural  indolence  of  the 
Tropics,  he  had  always  been  conscious  of  a  languor  to  fight. 
But  the  moment  the  sharp  air  of  the  North  had  tingled 
his  skin  his  very  muscles  seemed  to  harden,  his  blood  to 
quicken,  and  even  his  brain  to  become  more  alert  and  eager. 
If  he  had  been  ambitious  and  studious  in  an  average  tem 
perature  of  eighty-five  degrees,  what  would  happen  when 
the  thermometer  dropped  below  zero  ?  He  smiled,  but  with 
much  contentment.  The  vaster  the  capacity  for  study,  the 
better ;  as  for  his  ambitions,  they  could  rest  until  he  had 
finished  his  education.  Now  that  his  feet  were  fairly 
planted  on  the  wide  highway  of  the  future,  his  impatience 
was  taking  its  well-earned  rest ;  he  would  allow  no  dreams 
to  interfere  with  the  packing  of  his  brain. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  fashionable  world 
was  promenading  on  lower  Broadway  and  on  the  Battery 
by  the  Fort.  It  was  the  first  time  that  Alexander  had 
seen  men  in  velvet  coats,  or  women  with  hoopskirts  and 
hair  built  up  a  foot,  and  he  thought  the  city,  with  its  quaint 
Dutch  houses,  its  magnificent  trees,  and  these  brilliant 
northern  birds,  quite  like  a  picture  book.  They  looked 
high-bred  and  intelligent,  these  animated  saunterers,  and 
Alexander  regarded  the  women  with  deep  inquisitiveness. 
Women  had  interested  him  little,  with  the  exception  of 
his  mother,  who  he  took  for  granted  was  sni  generis.  The 
sisters  of  his  friends  were  white  delicate  creatures,  languid 
and  somewhat  affected ;  and  he  had  always  felt  older 
than  either  of  his  aunts.  In  consequence,  he  had  meditated 
little  upon  the  sex  to  which  poets  had  formed  a  habit  of 
writing  sonnets,  regarding  them  either  as  necessary  ap 
pendages  or  creatures  for  use.  But  these  alert,  dashing, 
often  handsome  women,  stirred  him  with  a  new  gratitude 
to  life.  He  longed  for  the  day  when  he  should  have  time 
to  know  them,  and  pictured  them  gracing  the  solid  home 
like  houses  on  the  Broadway,  and  in  the  fine  grounds  along 
the  river  front,  where  he  strayed  after  a  time,  having  mis 
taken  the  way  to  King's  College.  He  walked  back  through 
Wall  Street,  and  his  enthusiasm  was  beginning  to  ebb,  he 


120  THE   CONQUEROR 

was  feeling  the  first  pangs  of  a  lonely  nostalgia,  when  he 
almost  ran  into  Ned  Stevens's  arms.  It  was  four  years  since 
they  had  met.  Stevens  had  grown  a  foot  and  Alexander 
a  few  inches,  but  both  were  boyish  in  appearance  still  and 
recognized  each  other  at  once. 

"When  I  can  talk,"  exclaimed  Stevens,  "when  I  can 
get  over  my  amazement  —  I  thought  at  first  it  was  my 
double,  come  to  tell  me  something  was  wrong  on  the  Island 
—  I'll  ask  you  to  come  to  Fraunces'  Tavern  and  have  a 
tankard  of  ale.  It's  healthier  than  swizzle." 

"  That  is  an  invitation,  Neddy,"  cried  Alexander,  gaily. 
"  Initiate  me  at  once.  I've  but  a  day  or  two  to  play  in, 
but  I  must  have  you  for  playfellow." 

They  dined  at  Fraunces'  Tavern  and  sat  there  till  nearly 
morning.  Alexander  had  much  to  tell  but  more  to  hear, 
and  before  they  parted  at  Mr.  Mulligan's  door  he  knew  all  of 
the  New  World  that  young  Stevens  had  patiently  accumu 
lated  in  four  years.  It  was  a  stirring  story,  that  account 
of  the  rising  impatience  of  the  British  colonies,  and  Stevens 
told  it  with  animation  and  brevity.  Alexander  became  so 
interested  that  he  forgot  his  personal  mission,  but  he  would 
not  subscribe  to  his  friend's  opinion  that  the  Colonials 
were  in  the  right. 

"  Did  I  have  the  time,  I  should  study  the  history  of 
the  colonies  from  the  day  they  built  their  first  fort,"  he 
said.  "  Your  story  is  picturesque,  but  it  does  not  con 
vince  me  that  they  have  all  the  right  on  their  side.  Eng 
land— " 

"  England  is  a  tyrannical  old  fool,"  young  Stevens  was 
beginning,  heatedly,  when  a  man  behind  arose  and  clapped 
a  hand  over  his  mouth. 

"  There  are  three  British  officers  at  the  next  table,"  he 
said.  "  We  don't  want  any  more  rows.  One  too  many, 
and  God  knows  what  next." 

Stevens  subsided,  but  Alexander's  nostrils  expanded. 
Even  the  mental  atmosphere  of  this  brilliant  North  was 
full  of  electricity. 

The  next  day  he  presented  to  Dr.  Rogers  and  Dr. 
Mason  the  letters  which  Hugh  Knox  had  given  him.  He 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  121 

interested  them  at  once,  and  when  he  asked  their  advice 
regarding  the  first  step  he  should  take  toward  entering 
college,  they  recommended  Francis  Barber's  Grammar 
School,  at  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey.  Stevens  had  sug 
gested  the  same  institution,  and  so  did  other  acquaintances  he 
made  during  his  brief  stay  in  the  city  which  was  one  day  to  be 
christened  by  angry  politicians,  "  Hamiltonopolis."  Early 
in  the  following  week  he  crossed  to  New  Jersey  and  rode 
through  the  forests  to  the  village,  with  its  quaint  streets  and 
handsome  houses,  <:the  Burial  Yard  Lot,"  beside  the  main 
thoroughfare  of  the  proud  little  hamlet,  and  Mr.  Barber's 
Grammar  School  at  its  upper  end.  Hamilton  was  accepted 
immediately,  but  where  to  lodge  was  a  harassing  question. 
The  only  rooms  for  hire  were  at  the  tavern,  where  perma 
nent  lodgement  would  be  intolerable.  When  he  presented 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Boudinot,  which  Mr.  Cruger  had  given 
him,  the  problem  was  solved  at  once.  Mr.  Boudinot,  one 
of  the  men  of  his  time,  had  a  spacious  and  elegant  house, 
set  amidst  gardens,  lawns,  and  forest  trees ;  there  were 
many  spare  bedrooms,  and  he  invited  Hamilton  to  become 
a  member  of  his  family.  The  invitation  was  given  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  Hamilton  accepted  it  as  frankly. 
All  the  pupils  who  were  far  from  home  visited  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Liberty  Hall,  on  the  Springfield  turnpike, 
was  finishing  when  Hamilton  arrived.  When  the  family 
was  installed  and  he  presented  his  letter  to  its  owner, 
William  Livingston,  he  received  as  pressing  an  invitation 
as  Mr.  Boudinot's,  and  divided  his  time  between  the  two 
houses. 

Mr.  Boudinot  was  a  large  man,  with  a  long  nose  and 
a  kindly  eye,  who  was  deeply  attached  to  his  children. 
Susan  was  healthy,  pretty,  lively,  and  an  ardent  young 
patriot.  The  baby  died,  and  Hamilton,  having  offered  to 
sit  up  with  the  little  body,  entertained  himself  by  writing 
an  appropriate  poem,  which  was  long  treasured  by  Mr. 
Boudinot. 

At  Liberty  Hall  life  was  even  more  interesting.  William 
Livingston  was  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers,  most  independent 
thinkers,  and  ardent  republicans  of  the  unquiet  times.  Witty 


122  THE   CONQUEROR 

and  fearless,  he  had  for  years  made  a  target  of  kingly  rule; 
his  acid  cut  deep,  doing  much  to  weaken  the  wrong  side 
and  encourage  the  right.  His  wife  was  as  uncompromis 
ing  a  patriot  as  himself ;  his  son,  Brockholst,  and  his 
sprightly  cultivated  daughters  had  grown  up  in  an 
atmosphere  of  political  discussion,  and  in  constant  asso 
ciation  with  the  best  intellects  of  the  day.  Sarah,  the 
beauty,  was  engaged  to  John  Jay,  already  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  notoriously  patriotic  and  highminded.  He  was  a 
handsome  man,  with  his  dark  hair  brushed  forward  about 
his  face,  his  nobility  and  classic  repose  of  feature.  Mr. 
Livingston  wore  his  hair  in  a  waving  mass,  as  long  as  he 
had  any.  His  nose  was  large  and  sharp,  and  he  had  a 
very  disapproving  eye.  He  took  an  immediate  liking  to 
young  Hamilton,  however,  and  his  hospitality  was  frank 
and  delightful.  Brockholst  and  Alexander  liked  and 
admired  each  other  in  those  days,  although  they  were  to 
become  bitter  enemies  in  the  turbulent  future.  As  for  the 
lively  bevy  of  women,  protesting  against  their  exile  from 
New  York,  but  amusing  themselves,  always,  they  adopted 
"the  young  West  Indian."  The  delicate-looking  boy,  with 
his  handsome  sparkling  face,  his  charming  manners,  and 
gay  good  humour  captivated  them  at  once ;  and  he  wrote 
to  Mrs.  Mitchell  that  he  was  become  shockingly  spoiled. 
When  Mr.  Livingston  discovered  that  his  brain  and  know 
ledge  were  extraordinary,  he  ceased  at  once  to  treat  him  as 
a  fascinating  boy,  and  introduced  him  to  the  men  who  were 
constantly  entertained  at  his  house :  John  Jay,  James  Duane, 
Dr.  Witherspoon,  President  of  Princeton ;  and  members  of 
the  Morris,  Schuyler,  Ogden,  Clinton,  and  Stockton  families. 
The  almost  weekly  conversation  of  these  men  contributed 
to  the  rapid  maturing  of  Hamilton's  mind.  His  recreation 
he  found  with  the  young  women  of  the  family,  and  their 
conversation  was  not  always  political.  Sarah  Livingston, 
beautiful,  sweet,  and  clever,  was  pensively  in  love;  but  Kitty 
and  Susan  were  not,  and  they  were  handsome  and  dashing. 
They  were  sufficiently  older  than  Alexander  to  inspire  him 
with  the  belief  that  he  was  in  love  with  each  in  turn ;  and 
if  he  was  constant  to  either,  it  was  to  Kitty,  who  was  the 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  123 

first  to  reveal  to  him  the  fascination  of  her  sex.  But  they 
did  not  interrupt  the  course  of  his  studies;  and  in  the  dawn, 
when  he  repaired  to  the  Burial  Yard  Lot  to  think  out  his 
difficult  task  for  the  day,  not  a  living  face  haunted  the 
tombstones. 

And  when  winter  came  and  he  walked  the  vast  black 
forests  alone,  the  snow  crunching  under  his  feet,  the  blood 
racing  in  his  body,  a  gun  on  his  shoulder,  lest  he  meet  a 
panther,  or  skated  till  midnight  under  the  stars,  a  crystal 
moon  illuminating  the  dark  woods  on  the  river's  edge,  the 
frozen  tide  glittering  the  flattering  homage  of  earth,  he  felt 
so  alive  and  happy,  so  tingling  and  young  and  primeval, 
that  had  his  fellow-inhabitants  flown  to  the  stars  he  would 
not  have  missed  them.  Until  that  northern  winter  embraced 
and  hardened  him,  quickening  mind  and  soul  and  body, 
crowding  the  future  with  realized  dreams,  he  never  had 
dared  to  imagine  that  life  could  be  so  fair  and  beautiful  a 
thing. 

On  stormy  winter  nights,  when  he  roasted  chestnuts  or 
popped  corn  in  the  great  fireplace  of  Liberty  Hall,  under 
the  tuition  of  all  the  Livingston  girls,  Sarah,  Susan,  Kitty, 
and  Judith,  he  felt  very  sociable  indeed;  and  if  his  ears, 
sometimes,  were  soundly  boxed,  he  looked  so  penitent  and 
meek  that  he  was  contritely  rewarded  with  the  kiss  he  had 
snatched. 

The  girls  regarded  him  as  a  cross  between  a  sweet  and 
charming  boy  to  be  spoiled  —  one  night,  when  he  had  a 
toothache,  they  all  sat  up  with  him  —  and  a  phenomenon 
of  nature  of  which  they  stood  a  trifle  in  awe.  But  the 
last  was  when  he  was  not  present  and  they  fell  to  discuss 
ing  him.  And  with  them,  as  with  all  women,  he  wore, 
because  to  the  gay  vivacity  and  polished  manners  of  his 
Gallic  inheritance  he  added  the  rugged  sincerity  of  the  best 
of  Britons ;  and  in  the  silences  of  his  heart  he  was  too  sen 
sible  of  the  inferiority  of  the  sex,  out  of  which,  first  and 
last,  he  derived  so  much  pleasure,  not  to  be  tender  and 
considerate  of  it  always. 

Before  the  year  of  1773  was  out  Mr.  Barber  pronounced 
him  ready  for  college,  and,  his  choice  being  Princeton,  he 


124  THE   CONQUEROR 

presented  himself  to  Dr.  Witherspoon  and  demanded  a 
special  course  which  would  permit  him  to  finish  several 
years  sooner  than  if  he  graduated  from  class  to  class.  He 
knew  his  capacity  for  conquering  mental  tasks,  and  having 
his  own  way  to  make  in  the  world,  had  no  mind  to  waste 
years  and  the  substance  of  his  relatives  at  college.  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  who  had  long  been  deeply  interested  in  him, 
examined  him  privately  and  pronounced  him  equal  to  the 
heavy  burden  he  had  imposed  upon  himself,  but  feared 
that  the  board  of  trustees  would  not  consent  to  so  original 
a  plan.  They  would  not.  Hamilton,  nothing  daunted, 
applied  to  King's  College,  and  found  no  opposition  there. 
He  entered  as  a  private  student,  attached  to  no  particular 
class,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  tutor  began  his  customary 
annihilation  of  time.  Besides  entering  upon  a  course  of 
logic,  ethics,  mathematics,  history,  chronology,  rhetoric, 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  all  the  modern  languages,  and  Belles 
Lettres,  he  found  time  to  attend  Dr.  Clossy's  lectures 
on  anatomy,  with  his  friend  Stevens,  who  was  studying 
medicine  as  a  profession. 

King's  was  a  fine  building  facing  the  North  River  and 
surrounded  by  spacious  grounds  shaded  by  old  sycamores 
and  elms.  There  were  many  secluded  corners  for  thought 
and  study.  A  more  favourite  resort  of  Alexander's  was 
Batteau  Street,  under  whose  great  elms  he  formed  the 
habit  of  strolling  and  muttering  his  lessons,  to  the  concern 
of  the  passer-by.  In  his  hours  of  leisure  he  rollicked  with 
Stevens  and  his  new  friends,  Nicolas  Fish  and  Robert 
Troup.  The  last,  a  strong  and  splendid  specimen  of  the 
young  American  collegian,  had  assumed  at  once  the  rela 
tion  of  big  brother  to  the  small  West  Indian,  but  was  not 
long  discovering  that  Hamilton  could  take  care  of  himself ; 
was  flown  at  indeed  by  two  agile  fists  upon  one  occasion, 
when  protectiveness,  in  Alexander's  measurement,  rose 
to  interference.  But  they  formed  a  deep  and  lifelong 
friendship,  and  Troup,  who  was  clever  and  alert,  without 
brilliancy,  soon  learned  to  understand  Hamilton,  and  was 
not  long  recognizing  potentialities  of  usefulness  to  the 
American  cause  in  his  genius. 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  125 

It  was  Troup  who  took  him  for  his  first  sail  up  the  Hud 
son,  and  except  for  the  men  who  managed  the  boat,  they 
went  alone.  Troup  was  a  good  listener,  and  for  a  time 
Hamilton  chattered  gaily  as  the  boat  sped  up  the  river, 
jingling  rhymes  on  the  great  palisades,  which  looked  like 
the  walls  of  some  Brobdingnagian  fortress,  and  upon  the 
gorgeous  masses  of  October  colouring  swarming  over  the 
perpendicular  heights  of  Jersey  and  the  slopes  and  bluffs 
of  New  York.  It  was  a  morning,  and  a  piece  of  nature,  to 
make  the  quicksilver  in  Hamilton  race.  The  arch  was  blue, 
the  tide  was  bluer,  the  smell  of  salt  was  in  the  keen  and 
frosty  air.  Two  boats  with  full  white  sails  flew  up  the 
river.  On  either  bank  the  primeval  forest  had  burst  in  a 
night  into  scarlet  and  gold,  pale  yellow  and  crimson,  bronze, 
pink,  the  flaming  hues  of  the  Tropics,  and  the  delicate 
tints  of  hot-house  roses.  Hamilton  had  never  seen  such  a 
riot  of  colour  in  the  West  Indies.  They  passed  impene 
trable  thickets  close  to  the  water's  edge,  ravines,  cliffs, 
irregular  terraces  on  the  hillside,  gorges,  solitary  heights, 
all  flaunting  their  charms  like  a  vast  booth  which  has  but  a 
day  in  which  to  sell  its  wares.  They  sped  past  the  beautiful 
peninsula,  then  the  lawns  of  Philipse  Manor.  Hamilton 
stepped  suddenly  to  the  bow  of  the  boat  and  stood  silent 
for  a  long  while. 

The  stately  but  narrow  end  of  the  Hudson  was  behind ; 
before  him  rolled  a  wide  and  ever  widening  majestic  flood, 
curving  among  its  hills  and  palisades,  through  the  glory  of 
its  setting  and  the  soft  mists  of  distance,  until  the  far  moun 
tains  it  clove  trembled  like  a  mirage.  The  eye  of  Hamil 
ton's  mind  followed  it  farther  and  farther  yet.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  it  cut  the  world  in  two.  The  sea  he  had  had 
with  him  always,  but  it  had  been  the  great  chasm  between 
himself  and  life,  and  he  had  often  hated  it.  This  mighty 
river,  haughty  and  calm  in  spite  of  the  primeval  savagery 
of  its  course,  beat  upon  the  gates  of  his  soul,  beat  them 
down,  filled  him  with  a  sense  of  grandeur  which  made  him 
tremble.  He  had  a  vision  of  the  vastness  and  magnificence 
of  the  New  World,  of  the  great  lonely  mountains  in  the 
North,  with  their  countless  lakes  hidden  in  the  immensity 


126  THE   CONQUEROR 

of  a  trackless  forest,  of  other  mountain  ranges  equally  wild 
and  lonely,  cutting  the  monotony  of  plains  and  prairies, 
and  valleys  full  of  every  delight.  All  that  Hamilton  had 
read  or  heard  of  the  immense  area  beyond  or  surrounding 
the  few  cities  and  hamlets  of  the  American  colonies,  flew 
to  coherence,  and  he  had  a  sudden  appreciation  of  the  stu- 
pendousness  of  this  new  untravelled  world,  understood  that 
with  its  climate,  fertility,  and  beauty,  its  large  nucleus  of 
civilization,  its  destiny  must  be  as  great  as  Europe's,  nor 
much  dissimilar,  no  matter  what  the  variance  of  detail. 
The  noblest  river  in  the  world  seemed  to  lift  its  voice  like 
a  prophet,  and  the  time  came  —  after  his  visit  to  Boston  — 
when  Hamilton  listened  to  it  with  a  thrill  of  impatient 
pride  and  white-hot  patriotism.  But  to-day  he  felt  only 
the  grandeur  of  life  as  he  never  had  felt  it  before,  felt  his 
soul  merge  into  this  mighty  unborn  soul  of  a  nation  sleep 
ing  in  the  infinity,  which  the  blue  flood  beneath  him  spoke 
of,  almost  imaged ;  with  no  premonition  that  his  was  the 
destiny  to  quicken  that  soul  to  its  birth. 

While  on  the  ship,  Alexander  had  written  to  his  father, 
asking  for  news  of  him  and  telling  of  the  change  in  his 
own  fortunes.  James  Hamilton  had  replied  at  once,  grate 
fully,  but  with  melancholy ;  by  this  time  he  knew  himself 
to  be  a  failure,  although  he  was  now  a  planter  in  a  small 
way.  Alexander's  letter,  full  of  the  hope  and  indomitable 
spirit  of  youth,  interested  as  keenly  as  it  saddened  him. 
He  recalled  his  own  high  courage  and  expectant  youth, 
and  wondered  if  this  boy  had  stronger  mettle  than  his 
•own  equipment.  Then  he  remembered  Rachael  Levine 
and  hoped.  He  lived  to  see  hope  fulfilled  beyond  any 
achievement  of  his  imagination,  although  the  correspond 
ence,  brisk  for  a  time,  gradually  subsided.  From  Hugh 
Knox  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  Alexander  heard  constantly,  and 
it  is  needless  to  state  that  his  aunt  kept  him  in  linen  which 
was  the  envy  of  his  friends.  His  beruffled  shirts  and  lace 
stocks  were  marvels,  and  if  he  was  an  exquisite  in  dress  all 
his  life,  it  certainly  was  not  due  to  after-thought.  Mean 
while,  he  lodged  with  the  family  of  Hercules  Mulligan,  and 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  127 

wrote  doggerel  for  their  amusement  in  the  evening.  Troup 
relates  that  Hamilton  presented  him  with  a  manuscript  of 
fugitive  poetry,  written  at  this  period.  Mercifully,  Troup  lost 
it.  Hamilton  has  been  peculiarly  fortunate  in  this  respect. 
He  lies  more  serenely  in  his  grave  than  most  great  men. 

When  he  was  not  studying,  or  joking,  or  rhyming, 
during  those  two  short  years  of  college  life,  he  read : 
Cudworth's  "  Intellectual  System,"  Hobbes's  "  Dialogues," 
Bacon's  "  Essays,"  Plutarch's  "  Morals,"  Cicero's  "  De 
Officiis,"  Montaigne's  "Essays,"  Rousseau's  "  Emile," 
Demosthenes's  "Orations,"  Aristotle's  "Politics,"  Ralt's 
"Dictionary  of  Trade,"  and  the  "Lex  Mercatoria." 

He  accomplished  his  mental  feats  by  the  —  to  him  — 
simple  practice  of  keeping  one  thing  before  his  mind  at 
a  time,  then  relegating  it  uncompromisingly  to  the  back 
ground  ;  where,  however,  it  was  safe  in  the  folds  of  his 
memory.  What  would  have  sprained  most  minds  merely 
stimulated  his,  and  never  affected  his  spirits  nor  his  health, 
highly  as  nature  had  strung  his  nerves.  He  was  putting 
five  years  college  work  into  two,  but  the  effect  was  an 
expansion  and  strengthening  of  the  forces  in  his  brain; 
they  never  weakened  for  an  instant. 

XIV 

In  the  spring  of  1774  Hamilton  visited  Boston  during  a 
short  holiday.  His  glimpse  of  this  city  had  been  so  brief 
that  it  had  impressed  his  mind  but  as  a  thing  of  roofs  and 
trees,  a  fantastic  woodland  amphitheatre,  in  whose  depths 
men  of  large  and  solemn  mien  added  daily  to  the  sum 
of  human  discomfort.  He  returned  to  see  the  important 
city  of  Boston,  but  with  no  overwhelming  desire  to  come 
in  closer  contact  with  its  forbidding  inhabitants.  He 
quickly  forgot  the  city  in  what  those  stern  sour  men  had 
to  tell  him.  For  to  them  he  owed  that  revelation  of  the 
tragic  justice  of  the  American  cause  which  enabled  him  to 
begin  with  the  pen  his  part  in  the  Revolution,  forcing  the 
crisis,  taking  rank  as  a  political  philosopher  when  but  a 
youth  of  seventeen ;  instead  of  bolting  from  his  books  to 


128  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  battlefield  at  the  first  welcome  call  to  arms.  Up  to 
this  time  he  had  adhered  to  his  resolution  to  let  nothing 
impede  the  progress  of  his  education,  to  live  strictly  in  the 
hour  until  the  time  came  to  leave  the  college  for  the  world. 
Therefore,  although  he  had  heard  the  question  of  Colonies 
versus  Crown  argued  week  after  week  at  Liberty  Hall,  and 
at  the  many  New  York  houses  where  he  dined  of  a  Sunday 
with  his  friends,  Stevens,  Troup,  and  Fish,  he  had  persist 
ently  refused  to  study  the  matter :  there  were  older  heads 
to  settle  it  and  there  was  only  one  age  for  a  man's  educa 
tion.  Moreover,  he  had  grown  up  with  a  deep  reverence 
for  the  British  Constitution,  and  his  strong  aristocratic 
prejudices  inclined  him  to  all  the  aloofness  of  the  true 
conservative.  So  while  the  patriots  and  royalists  of  King's 
were  debating,  ofttimes  concluding  in  sequestered  nooks, 
Hamilton  remained  "The  young  West  Indian,"  an  alien 
who  cared  for  naught  but  book-learning,  walking  abstract 
edly  under  the  great  green  shade  of  Batteau  Street  while 
Liberty  Boys  were  shouting,  and  British  soldiers  swag 
gered  with  a  sharp  eye  for  aggression.  This  period 
of  philosophic  repose  in  the  midst  of  electric  fire  darting 
from  every  point  in  turn  and  sometimes  from  all  points  at 
once,  endured  from  the  October  of  his  arrival  to  its  decent 
burial  in  Boston  shortly  after  his  seventeenth  birthday. 

Boston  was  sober  and  depressed,  stonily  awaiting  the 
vengeance  of  the  crown  for  her  dramatic  defiance  in  the 
matter  of  tea.  Even  in  that  rumbling  interval,  Hamilton 
learned,  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  which  had 
directed  the  momentous  act,  had  been  unexcited  and  method 
ical,  restraining  the  Mohawks  day  after  day,  hoping  until 
the  last  moment  that  the  Collector  of  Customs  would  clear 
the  ships  and  send  the  tea  whence  it  came.  Hamilton 
heard  the  wrongs  of  the  colonies  discussed  without  any  of 
the  excitement  or  pyrotechnical  brilliancy  to  which  he  had 
become  accustomed.  New  York  was  not  only  the  hot-bed 
of  Toryism,  but  even  such  ardent  Republicans  as  William 
Livingston,  George  Clinton,  and  John  Jay  were  aristocrats, 
holding  themselves  fastidiously  aloof  from  the  rank  and 
file  that  marched  and  yelled  under  the  name  of  Sons  of 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  129 

Liberty.  To  Hamilton  the  conflict  had  been  spectacular 
rather  than  real,  until  he  met  and  moved  with  these  sombre, 
undemonstrative,  superficially  unpleasing  men  of  Boston ; 
then,  almost  in  a  flash,  he  realized  that  the  colonies  were 
struggling,  not  to  be  relieved  of  this  tax  or  that,  but  for  a 
principle ;  realized  that  three  millions  of  people,  a  respect 
able  majority  honourable,  industrious,  and  educated,  were 
being  treated  like  incapables,  apprehensive  of  violence  if 
they  dared  to  protest  for  their  rights  under  the  British 
Constitution.  Hamilton  also  learned  that  Boston  was  the 
conspicuous  head  and  centre  of  resistance  to  the  crown, 
that  she  had  led  the  colonies  in  aggressiveness  since  the 
first  Stamp  Act  of  1765  had  shocked  them  from  passive  sub 
jects  into  dangerous  critics.  He  had  letters  which  admitted 
him  to  clubs  and  homes,  and  he  discussed  but  one  subject 
during  his  visit.  There  were  no  velvet  coats  and  lace 
ruffles  here,  except  in  the  small  group  which  formed  the 
Governor's  court.  The  men  wore  dun-coloured  garments, 
and  the  women  were  not  much  livelier.  It  was,  perhaps,  as 
well  that  he  diJ  not  see  John  Hancock,  that  ornamental 
head-piece  of  patriotic  New  England,  or  the  harmony  of 
the  impression  might  have  been  disturbed ;  but,  as  it  was, 
every  time  he  saw  these  men  together,  whether  sitting  unde- 
monstratively  in  Faneuil  Hall  while  one  of  their  number 
spoke,  or  in  church,  or  in  groups  on  Boston  Common,  it 
was  as  if  he  saw  men  of  iron,  not  of  flesh  and  blood.  Every 
word  they  uttered  seemed  to  have  been  weighed  first,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  consider  such  men  giving  their  time 
and  thought,  making  ready  to  offer  up  their  lives,  to  any 
cause  which  should  not  merit  the  attention  of  all  men. 
Although  Hamilton  met  many  of  them,  they  made  no  indi 
vidual  impression  on  him  ;  he  saw  them  only  as  a  mighty 
brain,  capable  of  solving  a  mighty  question,  and  of  a  stern 
and  bitter  courage. 

He  returned  to  New  York  filled  with  an  intense  indigna 
tion  against  the  country  which  he  had  believed  too  ancient 
and  too  firm  in  her  highest  principles  to  make  a  colossal 
mistake,  and  a  hot  sympathy  for  the  colonists  which  was 
not  long  resolving  itself  into  as  burning  a  patriotism  as  any 


i3o  THE   CONQUEROR 

in  the  land.  It  was  not  in  him  to  do  anything  by  halves-, 
it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  realized  the  half-hearted  tendency 
of  the  greater  part  of  mankind.  He  studied  the  question 
from  the  first  Stamp  Act  to  the  Tea  Party.  The  day  he 
was  convinced,  he  ceased  to  be  a  West  Indian.  The  time 
was  not  yet  come  to  draw  the  sword  in  behalf  of  the  country 
for  which  he  conceived  a  romantic  passion,  which  satisfied 
other  wants  of  his  soul,  but  he  began  at  once  on  a  course 
of  reading  which  should  be  of  use  to  her  when  she  was  free 
to  avail  herself  of  patriotic  thinkers.  He  also  joined  the 
debating  club  of  the  college.  His  abrupt  advent  into  this 
body,  with  his  fiery  eloquence  and  remarkable  logic,  was 
electrical.  In  a  day  he  became  the  leader  of  the  patriot 
students.  There  were  many  royalists  in  King's,  and  the 
president,  Dr.  Myles  Cooper,  was  a  famous  old  Tory.  He 
looked  upon  this  influential  addition  to  the  wrong  side 
with  deep  disfavour,  and  when  he  discovered  that  the  most 
caustic  writer  of  Holt's  Whig  newspaper,  who  had  carved 
him  to  the  quick  and  broken  his  controversial  lances  again 
and  again,  was  none  other  than  his  youngest  and  most 
revolutionary  pupil,  his  wrath  knew  no  bounds. 

With  the  news  of  the  order  to  close  the  port  of  Boston, 
the  wave  of  indignation  in  the  colonies  rose  so  high  that 
even  the  infatuated  clergy  wriggled.  Philadelphia  went 
so  far  as  to  toll  her  muffled  bells  for  a  day,  and  as  for 
New  York,  then  as  now,  the  nerve-knot  of  the  country,  she 
exploded.  The  Sons  of  Liberty,  who  had  reorganized 
after  the  final  attempt  of  England  to  force  tea  on  the 
colonies,  paraded  all  day  and  most  of  the  night,  but  were, 
as  yet,  more  orderly  than  the  masses,  who  stormed  through 
the  streets  with  lighted  torches,  shrieking  and  yelling  and 
burning  the  king  and  his  ministers  in  effigy. 

The  substantial  citizens  also  felt  that  the  time  was  come 
to  prepare  for  the  climax  toward  which  their  fortunes  were 
hastening.  That  spiteful  fist  would  be  at  their  own  skulls 
next,  beyond  a  doubt.  The  result  of  a  long  and  hot  debate 
in  the  Exchange  between  the  Sons  of  Liberty  and  the  more 
conservative  patriots  was  an  agreement  to  call  a  Congress 
of  the  Colonies.  The  contest  over  the  election  of  delegates 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  131 

was  so  bitter,  however,  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly, 
which  was  largely  ministerial,  claiming  the  right  to  nomi 
nation,  that  it  was  determined  to  submit  the  question  to  the 
people  at  large. 

XV 

In  the  early  morning  Hamilton  still  sauntered  beneath 
the  college  trees  or  those  of  Batteau  Street,  pondering  on 
his  studies,  and  abstracting  himself  from  the  resting  city, 
but  in  the  evenings  and  during  half  the  night  he  inhaled 
the  hot  breath  of  rebellion  ;  and  the  flaring  torches,  the  set 
angry  faces,  the  constant  shouting,  the  frightened  pallor  of 
the  women  at  the  windows  of  the  great  houses  on  the  line 
of  march,  the  constant  brawls  with  British  soldiers,  stormed 
the  curb  he  had  put  on  his  impatient  spirit.  He  realized 
that  the  colonies  were  not  yet  prepared  to  fight,  and  he  had 
no  thought  of  doing  anything  rash,  but  it  was  his  propen 
sity  to  do  a  thing  at  once  if  it  were  to  be  done  at  all,  and 
this  last  indignity  should  result  in  something  except  talk. 
He  was  present  at  the  meeting  in  the  Exchange  and  listened 
carefully  to  all  that  was  said,  feeling  that  he  could  add  to 
that  whirlwind  of  ideas,  but  forbearing  on  account  of  his 
youth.  His  mind,  by  now,  was  so  mature  that  he  reminded 
himself,  with  some  difficulty,  that  he  was  but  seventeen. 
He  was  as  lively  and  as  happy  as  ever,  but  that  was  tem 
peramental  and  would  endure  through  all  things  ;  mentally 
he  had  no  youth  in  him,  had  had  little  since  the  day  he 
began  to  ask  questions. 

The  meeting  in  the  Fields  —  at  which  it  was  hoped  to 
effect  a  choice  of  delegates  by  the  people  at  large  —  was 
called  for  the  6th  of  July,  and  a  great  multitude  assembled. 
Alexander  McDougall,  the  first  patriot  to  have  suffered  im 
prisonment  at  the  hands  of  the  Tyrant,  presided,  and  cele 
brated  speakers  harangued.  It  was  here  that  Hamilton's 
impatience  got  rid  of  its  curb.  He  heard  much  that  was 
good,  more  that  was  bad,  little  that  was  new ;  and  he  found 
the  radicals  illogical  and  the  conservatives  timid.  Nicolas 
Fish  and  Robert  Troup  pushed  their  way  through  the 


132  THE  CONQUEROR 

crowd  to  where  Hamilton  stood,  his  uplifted  face  express 
ing  his  thoughts  so  plainly  to  those  who  knew  him  that 
these  friends  determined  to  force  him  to  the  platform. 

At  first  he  protested;  and  in  truth,  the  idea,  shaping  con 
cretely,  filled  his  very  legs  with  terror;  but  the  young 
men's  insistence,  added  to  his  own  surging  ideas,  con 
quered,  and  he  found  himself  on  the  platform  facing  a 
boundless  expanse  of  three-cornered  hats.  Beneath  were 
the  men  who  represented  the  flower  as  well  as  the  weeds 
of  the  city,  all  dominated  by  the  master  passion  of  the 
civilized  world.  There  was  little  shade  in  the  Fields  and 
the  day  was  hot.  It  was  a  crowded,  uncomfortable,  humid 
mass  whose  attention  he  was  about  to  demand,  and  their 
minds  were  already  weary  of  many  words,  their  calves  of 
the  ruthless  mosquito.  They  stared  at  Hamilton  in  amaze 
ment,  for  his  slender  little  figure  and  fair  curling  hair,  tied 
loosely  with  a  ribbon,  made  him  look  a  mere  boy,  while  his 
proud  high-bred  face,  the  fine  green  broadcloth  of  his  fash 
ionably  cut  garments,  the  delicate  lawn  of  his  shirt  and 
the  profusion  of  lace  with  which  it  was  trimmed,  particu 
larly  about  his  exquisite  hands,  gave  him  far  more  the 
appearance  of  a  court  favourite  than  a  champion  of  liberty. 
Some  smiled,  others  grunted,  but  all  remained  to  listen, 
for  the  attempt  was  novel,  and  he  was  beautiful  to  look  upon. 

For  a  moment  Hamilton  felt  as  if  the  lower  end  of  his 
heart  had  grown  wings,  and  he  began  falteringly  and  in  an 
almost  inaudible  voice.  Pride  hastened  to  his  relief,  how 
ever,  and  his  daily  debates  in  college  had  given  him  assur 
ance  and  address.  He  recovered  his  poise,  and  as  ideas 
swam  from  his  brain  on  the  tide  of  a  natural  eloquence,  he 
forgot  all  but  the  great  principle  which  possessed  him  in 
common  with  that  jam  of  weary  men,  the  determination  to 
inspire  them  to  renewed  courage  and  greater  activity.  He 
rehearsed  their  wrongs,  emphasized  their  inalienable  rights 
under  the  British  Constitution — from  which  the  ministerial 
party  and  a  foolish  sovereign  had  practically  divorced  them. 
He  insisted  that  the  time  had  come  in  their  history  to  revert 
to  the  natural  rights  of  man  —  upon  which  all  civil  rights 
were  founded  —  since  they  were  no  longer  permitted  to 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  133 

lead  the  lives  of  self-respecting  citizens,  pursuing  the  hap 
piness  which  was  the  first  instinct  of  the  human  intelli 
gence  ;  they  had  been  reduced  almost  to  the  level  of  their 
own  slaves,  who  soon  would  cease  to  respect  them. 

He  paused  so  abruptly  that  the  crowd  held  its  breath. 
Then  his  ringing  thrilling  voice  sounded  the  first  note  of 
the  Revolution.  "  It  is  war  !  "  he  cried.  "  It  is  war  !  It 
is  the  battlefield  or  slavery  !  " 

When  the  deep  roar  which  greeted  the  startling  words 
had  subsided,  he  spoke  briefly  of  their  immense  natural 
advantages,  in  the  event  of  war,  the  inability  of  England 
to  gain  any  permanent  advantage,  and  finally  of  the  vast 
resources  of  the  country,  and  its  phenomenal  future,  when 
the  "  waves  of  rebellion,  sparkling  with  fire,  had  washed 
back  to  the  shores  of  England  the  wrecks  of  her  power, 
her  wealth,  and  her  glory." 

His  manner  was  as  fiery  and  impetuous  as  his  discourse 
was  clear,  logical,  and  original.  The  great  crowd  was  elec 
trified.  It  was  as  if  a  blade  of  lightning  had  shot  down 
from  the  hot  blue  sky  to  illuminate  the  doubting  recesses 
of  their  understandings.  They  murmured  repeatedly  "  It 
is  a  collegian,"  "a  collegian,"  and  they  thundered  their 
applause  when  he  finished. 

Troup  and  Fish  bore  him  off  in  triumph  to  Fraunces' 
Tavern,  where  Stevens  joined  them  immediately,  hot,  but 
exultant. 

"  I've  just  passed  our  president,  looking  like  an  infuriated 
bumblebee,"  he  cried.  "  I  know  he  heard  your  speech 
from  some  hidden  point  of  vantage.  It  was  a  great  speech, 
Alec.  What  a  pity  Hugh  Knox,  Mr.  Lytton,  and  Benny 
Yard  were  not  there  to  hear.  I'll  write  them  about  it  to 
night,  for  St.  Croix  ought  to  burn  a  bonfire  for  a  week, 
It  was  a  hurricane  with  a  brain  in  it  that  whirled  you 
straight  to  these  shores  —  as  opportune  for  this  country  as 
for  your  own  ambitions,  for,  unless  I'm  much  mistaken, 
you're  going  to  be  a  prime  factor  in  getting  rid  of  these 
pestiferous  redcoats  —  we've  a  private  room,  so  I  can  talk 
as  I  please.  One  tried  to  trip  me  up  just  now,  thinking  I 
was  you." 


i34  THE   CONQUEROR 

Fish  leaned  across  the  table  and  looked  penetratingly 
at  Hamilton,  who  was  flushed  and  nervous.  The  young 
New  Yorker  had  a  chubby  face,  almost  feminized  by  a 
soft  parted  fringe,  but  his  features  were  strong,  and  his 
eyes  preternaturally  serious. 

"You've  committed  yourself,  Hamilton,"  he  said.  "That 
was  no  college  play.  Whether  you  fight  or  not  doesn't  so 
much  matter,  but  you  must  give  us  your  pen  and  your 
speech.  I'm  no  idle  purveyor  of  compliments,  but  you 
are  extraordinary,  and  there  isn't  a  man  living  can  do  for 
the  cause  with  his  pen  what  you  can  do.  Write  pamphlets, 
and  they'll  be  published  without  an  hour's  delay." 

"  Ah,  I  see  !  "  cried  Hamilton,  gaily.  "  I  was  a  bit  be 
wildered.  You  think  my  new  patriotism  needs  nursing. 
'  After  all,  he  is  a  West  Indian,  born  British,  brought  up 
under  Danish  rule,  which  is  like  being  coddled  by  one's 
grandmother.  He  sympathizes  with  us,  his  mind  is  de 
lighted  with  a  new  subject  for  analysis  and  discourse,  but 
patriotism  — that  is  impossible.'  Is  it  not  true  ?  " 

"  You  have  read  my  thought,"  said  Fish,  with  some  con 
fusion.  "  And  you  have  a  great  deal  to  occupy  your 
mind.  I  never  have  known  anyone  whose  brain  worked 
at  so  many  things  at  once.  I  am  selfish  enough  to  want 
you  to  give  a  good  bit  of  it  to  us." 

"  I  never  was  one  to  make  fierce  demonstrations,"  said 
Alexander;  "but  fill  up  another  bumper  —  the  first -  has 
calmed  my  nerves,  which  were  like  to  jump  through  my 
skin  —  and  stand  up,  and  I'll  drink  you  a  pledge." 

The  three  other  young  men  sprang  to  their  feet,  and 
stood  with  their  glasses  raised,  their  eyes  anxiously  fixed 
on  young  Hamilton.  They  had  believed  him  to  be  prepar 
ing  himself  for  a  great  career  in  letters,  and  knowing  his 
tenacity  and  astonishing  powers  of  concentration,  had 
doubted  the  possibility  of  interesting  him  permanently  in 
politics.  They  all  had  brains  and  experience  enough  —  it 
was  a  hot  quick  time  —  to  recognize  his  genius,  and  to 
conceive  the  inestimable  benefit  it  could  confer  upon  the 
colonial  cause.  Moreover,  they  loved  him  and  wanted  to 
see  him  famous  as  quickly  as  possible. 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  135 

"Stand  up  on  the  table,"  cried  Troup.  "It  is  where 
you  belong;  and  you're  the  biggest  man  in  New  York, 
to-day."  As  Hamilton,  although  self-confident,  was  mod 
est,  Troup  put  down  his  bumper,  seized  the  hero  in  his 
big  arms  and  swung  him  to  the  middle  of  the  table.  Then 
the  three,  raising  their  glasses  again,  stood  in  a  semi 
circle.  Hamilton  threw  back  his  head  and  raised  his 
own  glass.  His  hand  trembled,  and  his  lips  moved 
for  a  moment  without  speaking,  after  his  habit  when 
excited. 

"The  pledge!  The  pledge!"  cried  Fish.  "We  want 
it." 

"  It  is  this,"  said  Hamilton.  "  I  pledge  myself,  body 
and  soul  and  brain,  to  the  most  sacred  cause  of  the  Ameri 
can  colonies.  I  vow  to  it  all  my  best  energies  for  the  rest 
of  my  life.  I  swear  to  fight  for  it  with  my  sword ;  then 
when  the  enemy  is  driven  out,  and  all  the  brain  in  the 
country  needed  to  reconstruct  these  tattered  colonies  and 
unify  them  into  one  great  state,  or  group  of  allied  states, 
which  shall  take  a  respectable  place  among  nations,  to 
give  her  all  that  I  have  learned,  all  that  my  brain  is  cap 
able  of  learning  and  conceiving.  I  believe  that  I  have 
certain  abilities,  and  I  solemnly  swear  to  devote  them 
wholly  to  my  country.  And  I  further  swear  that  never, 
not  in  a  single  instance,  will  I  permit  my  personal  ambi 
tions  to  conflict  with  what  must  be  the  lifelong  demands  of 
this  country." 

He  spoke  slowly  and  with  great  solemnity.  The  hands 
of  the  three  young  men  shook,  as  they  gulped  down  a  little 
of  the  wine.  Hamilton  rarely  was  serious  in  manner; 
even  when  discussing  literature,  politics,  or  any  of  the 
great  questions  before  the  world,  his  humour  and  wit  were 
in  constant  play,  a  natural  gift  permitting  this  while  de 
tracting  nothing  from  the  weight  of  his  opinions.  But 
his  words  and  his  manner  were  so  solemn  to-day  that  they 
impressed  his  hearers  profoundly,  and  they  all  had  a  vague 
presentiment  of  what  the  unborn  Country  would  owe  to 
that  pledge. 

"  You'll  keep  that,  Alexander,"  said  Fish.     "  Perhaps  it 


136  THE   CONQUEROR 

were  better  for  you  had  you  not  made  it  so  strong.  I 
burn  with  patriotism,  but  I'd  not  have  you  sacrificed  —  " 

"I've  made  my  vows,"  cried  Hamilton,  gaily,  "and  I'll 
not  have  you  mention  the  fact  again  that  I'm  not  an 
American  born.  Here's  not  only  to  liberty,  but  to  a 
united  people  under  the  firmest  national  constitution  ever 
conceived  by  man." 

"Amen,"  said  Troup,  "but  that's  looking  well  ahead. 
Hard  as  it  will  be  to  get  England  out,  it  will  be  harder 
still  to  make  New  York  and  New  England  love  each 
other ;  and  when  it  comes  to  hitching  Massachusetts  and 
Virginia  about  each  other's  necks,  I  vow  my  imagination 
won't  budge." 

"  It  will  come,"  said  Hamilton,  "  because  in  no  other  way 
can  they  continue  to  exist,  much  less  become  one  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  This  war  is  but  an  interlude,  no 
matter  how  long  it  may  take.  Then  will  come  the  true 
warfare  of  this  country  —  the  Great  Battle  of  Ideas,  and 
our  real  history  will  begin  while  it  is  raging,  while  we  are 
experimenting ;  and  there  will  be  few  greater  chapters  in 
any  country.  I  shall  take  part  in  that  battle ;  how,  it  is 
too  soon  to  know,  except  that  for  union  I  shall  never 
cease  to  strive  uritil  it  is  a  fact.  But  it  has  grown  cooler. 
Let  us  ride  up  to  the  village  of  Harlem  and  have  supper 
under  the  trees." 

XVI 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  he  wrote  the  pamphlets  in 
reply  to  the  tracts  assailing  the  Congress  and  aimed  par 
ticularly  at  setting  the  farmers  against  the  merchants. 
These  tracts  were  by  two  of  the  ablest  men  on  the  Tory 
side,  and  were  clever,  subtle,  and  insinuating.  Hamilton's 
pamphlets  were  entitled,  "A  Full  Vindication  of  the  Meas 
ures  of  Congress  from  the  Calumnies  of  Their  Enemies," 
and  "  The  Farmer  Refuted;  or  a  More  Comprehensive  and 
Impartial  View  of  the  Disputes  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  Colonies,  Intended  as  a  Further  Vindication  of  the 
Congress."  It  is  not  possible  to  quote  these  pamphlets, 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  137 

and  they  can  be  found  in  his  "Works,"  but  they  were 
remarkable  not  only  for  their  unanswerable  logic,  their 
comprehensive  arraignment  of  Britain,  their  close  discus 
sion  of  the  rights  of  the  colonists  under  the  British  Con 
stitution,  their  philosophical  definition  of  "natural  rights," 
and  their  reminder  that  war  was  inevitable,  but  for  their 
anticipation  of  the  future  resources  of  the  country,  particu 
larly  in  regard  to  cotton  and  manufactures,  and  for  the 
prophecies  regarding  the  treatment  of  the  colonies  by 
Europe.  The  style  was  clear,  concise,  and  bold,  and  with 
a  finish  which  alone  would  have  suggested  a  pen  pointed 
by  long  use. 

These  pamphlets,  which  created  a  profound  sensation, 
were  attributed  to  William  Livingston  and  John  Jay,  two 
of  the  ablest  men  on  the  patriot  side.  That  side  was  pro 
foundly  grateful,  for  they  put  heart  into  the  timid,  decided 
the  wavering,  and  left  the  Tory  writers  without  a  leg  to 
stand  on.  Nothing  so  brilliant  had  been  contributed  to 
the  cause. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  public  had  the  author's  name. 
Troup  had  been  present  at  the  writing  of  the  pamphlets, 
and  he  called  on  Dr.  Cooper,  one  day,  and  announced  the 
authorship  with  considerable  gusto. 

"  I'll  not  believe  it,"  exclaimed  the  president,  angrily ; 
"  Mr.  Jay  wrote  those  pamphlets,  and  none  other.  A  mere 
boy  like  that  —  it's  absurd.  Why  do  you  bring  me  such  a 
story,  sir?  I  don't  like  this  Hamilton,  he's  too  forward 
and  independent  —  but  I  have  no  desire  to  hear  more  ill 
of  him." 

"  He  wrote  them,  sir.  Mulligan,  in  whose  house  he 
lives,  and  I,  can  prove  it.  He's  the  finest  brain  in  this 
country,  and  I  mean  you  shall  know  it." 

He  left  Dr.  Cooper  foaming,  and  went  to  spread  the 
news  elsewhere.  The  effect  of  his  revelation  was  imme 
diate  distinction  for  Hamilton.  He  was  discussed  every 
where  as  a  prodigy  of  intellect ;  messages  reached  him  from 
every  colony.  "  Sears,"  said  Willets,  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Liberty  party,  "  was  a  warm  man,  but  with  little  reflec 
tion  ;  McDougall  was  strong-minded ;  and  Jay,  appearing 


138  THE   CONQUEROR 

to  fall  in  with  the  measures  of  Sears,  tempered  and  con 
trolled  them ;  but  Hamilton,  after  these  great  writings, 
became  our  oracle." 

Congress  met  in  May,  1/75,  and  word  having  come  that 
Chatham's  conciliation  bill  had  been  rejected,  and  that 
Britain  was  about  to  send  an  army  to  suppress  the  Amer 
ican  rebellion,  this  body  assumed  sovereign  prerogatives. 
They  began  at  once  to  organize  an  army ;  Washington 
was  elected  Commander-in-chief,  and  they  ordered  that 
five  thousand  men  be  raised  to  protect  New  York,  as  the 
point  most  exposed.  The  royal  troops  were  expelled,  and 
the  city  placed  in  command  of  General  Charles  Lee,  an 
English  soldier  of  fortune,  who  had  fought  in  many  lands 
and  brought  to  the  raw  army  an  experience  which  might 
have  been  of  inestimable  service,  had  he  been  high-minded, 
or  even  well  balanced.  As  it  was,  he  very  nearly  sacrificed 
the  cause  to  his  jealousy  of  Washington  and  to  his  insane 
vanity. 

Hamilton,  meanwhile,  published  his  two  pamphlets  on 
the  Quebec  Bill,  and  took  part  in  a  number  of  public 
debates.  At  one  of  these,  as  he  rose  to  speak,  a  stranger 
remarked,  "  What  brings  that  lad  here  ?  The  poor  boy 
will  disgrace  himself."  But  the  merchants,  who  were 
present  in  force,  listened  intently  to  all  he  had  to  say  on 
the  non-importation  agreement,  and  admitted  the  force  of 
his  arguments  toward  its  removal,  now  that  war  practically 
had  been  declared.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the 
phenomena  in  the  career  of  Hamilton  was  the  entire 
absence  of  struggle  for  an  early  hearing.  People  recog 
nized  his  genius  the  moment  they  came  in  contact  with  it, 
and  older  men  saw  only  the  extraordinary  and  mature 
brain,  their  judgement  quite  unaffected  by  the  boyish  face 
and  figure.  Those  who  would  not  admit  his  great  gifts 
were  few,  for  except  in  the  instances  where  he  incurred 
jealous  hate,  he  won  everybody  he  met  by  his  charming 
manner  and  an  entire  absence  of  conceit.  He  was  con 
scious  of  his  powers,  but  took  them  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  thought  only  of  what  he  would  do  with  them,  having  no 
leisure  to  dwell  on  their  quality.  In  consequence,  he  already 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  139 

had  a  large  following  of  unhesitating  admirers,  many  of 
them  men  twice  his  age,  and  was  accepted  as  the  leading 
political  philosopher  of  the  country. 

Dr.  Cooper  sent  for  him  after  his  third  pamphlet.  He, 
too,  was  a  patriot  in  his  way,  and  although  he  bristled 
whenever  Hamilton's  name  was  mentioned,  he  had  come 
in  contact  with  too  many  minds  not  to  recognize  ability  of 
any  sort ;  he  knew  that  Hamilton  would  be  invaluable  to 
the  Royalist  cause. 

"  Ask  your  own  price,  sir,"  he  said,  after  suggesting  the 
higher  service  to  which  he  could  devote  his  pen.  "You 
will  find  us  more  liberal — "  But  Hamilton  had  bolted. 
It  is  impossible  to  knock  down  one's  venerable  president, 
and  his  temper  was  still  an  active  member  in  the  family  of 
his  faculties.  To  the  numerous  other  offers  he  received 
from  the  Tory  side  he  made  no  reply,  beyond  inserting  an 
additional  sting  into  his  pen  when  writing  for  Holt's  Journal. 
In  the  press  he  was  referred  to,  now,  as  "  The  Vindicator 
of  Congress,"  and  it  was  generally  conceded  that  he  had 
done  more  to  hasten  matters  to  a  climax,  by  preparing  and 
whetting  the  public  mind,  than  anyone  else  in  America. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  swiftness  and  suddenness  of 
Hamilton's  conversion,  his  abrupt  descent  from  a  back 
ground  of  study  and  alien  indifference,  gave  him  a  clearer 
and  more  comprehensive  view  of  the  wrongs  and  needs  of 
the  colonists  than  they  possessed  themselves.  They  had 
been  muttering  ever  since  the  passage  of  the  first  stamp 
tax,  threatening,  permitting  themselves  to  be  placated, 
hoping,  despairing,  hoping  again.  Hamilton,  from  the  first 
moment  he  grasped  the  subject,  saw  that  there  was  no 
hope  in  ministerial  England,  no  hope  in  anything  but  war. 
Moreover,  his  courage,  naturally  of  the  finest  temper,  and 
an  audacity  which  no  one  had  ever  discouraged,  leapt  out 
from  that  far  background  of  the  West  Indies  into  an 
arena  where  the  natives  moved  in  an  atmosphere  whose 
damps  of  doubt  and  discouragement  had  corroded  them 
for  years.  Even  among  men  whose  courage  and  inde 
pendence  were  of  the  first  quality,  Hamilton's  passionate 
energy,  fearlessness  of  thought,  and  audacity  of  expression, 


140  THE   CONQUEROR 

made  him  remarkable  at  once ;  and  they  drew  a  long 
breath  of  relief  when  he  uncompromisingly  published  what 
they  had  long  agreed  upon  over  the  dining-table,  or  built 
up  the  doctrine  of  resistance  with  argument  as  powerful 
as  it  was  new. 

But  the  time  rapidly  approached  for  deeds,  and  Hamil 
ton  had  been  occupied  in  other  ways  than  writing  pam 
phlets.  During  the  past  six  months  he  had  studied 
tactics  and  gunnery,  and  had  joined  a  volunteer  corps  in 
order  to  learn  the  practical  details  of  military  science.  All 
his  friends  belonged  to  this  corps,  which  called  itself 
"  Hearts  of  Oak,"  and  looked  very  charming  in  green 
uniforms  and  leathern  caps,  inscribed  "  Freedom  or  Death." 
They  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  General  Greene,  a 
superior  man  and  an  accomplished  officer.  He  took  an 
especial  fancy  to  Hamilton,  and  great  as  was  their  dispar 
ity  in  years,  they  were  close  friends  until  the  General's 
death.  It  was  Greene  who  first  attracted  Washington's 
attention  to  the  youngest  of  his  captains,  and  Hamilton 
was  able  to  render  the  older  man,  whose  services  and 
talents  have  even  yet  not  been  properly  recognized  by  his 
country,  exceptional  service.  The  company  exercised  in 
the  churchyard  of  St.  George's  chapel,  early  in  the  morn 
ing  ;  for  in  spite  of  the  swarms  of  recruits  clad  in  every 
variety  of  uniform,  deserted  houses,  and  daily  flights  of  the 
timid  into  Jersey,  earthworks  and  fortifications,  college 
went  on  as  usual. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  "  Hearts  of  Oak "  had  an 
opportunity  to  distinguish  themselves.  The  provincial 
committee  ordered  them  to  remove  the  cannon  stationed 
at  the  Battery.  In  the  harbour  was  the  British  war-ship, 
Asia,  which  immediately  sent  off  a  boat  to  enquire  into  this 
proceeding.  A  large  number  of  armed  citizens  had  es 
corted  the  little  corps  to  the  Battery,  and  several  lost  their 
heads  and  fired  at  the  boat.  There  was  an  immediate 
broadside  from  the  Asia.  Three  of  the  militia  were  wounded, 
and  one  fell  dead  by  Hamilton's  side.  "It  is  child's  play 
to  a  hurricane,"  he  thought.  "  I  doubt  if  a  man  could  have  a 
better  training  for  the  battlefield."  They  removed  the  guns. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  141 

The  result  of  this  attack  was  another  explosion  of  New 
York's  nerves.  The  Sons  of  Liberty  made  it  unsafe  for 
a  Tory  to  venture  abroad.  They  marched  through  the 
streets  shouting  vengeance,  burning  in  effigy,  and  making 
alarming  demonstrations  before  the  handsome  houses  of 
certain  loyalists.  Suddenly,  about  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
they  were  animated  by  a  desire  to  offer  up  Dr.  Cooper, 
and  they  cohered  and  swarmed  down  toward  King's.  Ham 
ilton  and  Troup  happened  to  be  walking  in  the  grounds 
when  the  sudden  flare  of  torches  and  the  approaching  tide 
of  sound,  warned  them  of  the  invasion.  They  ran  like 
deer  to  head  them  off,  but  reached  the  portico  only  a  mo 
ment  ahead  of  the  mob,  which  knew  that  it  must  be  sud 
den  and  swift  to  be  victorious. 

"  I  can  talk  faster  than  you,"  whispered  Hamilton,  "  I'll 
harangue  them,  and  it  won't  take  Dr.  Cooper  long  to  under 
stand  and  flee  through  the  back  door  —  and  may  the  devil 
fly  away  with  him." 

"A  moment!"  he  cried,  "I've  something  to  say,  and  I 
may  not  have  another  chance,  war  is  so  close  upon  us." 

"  'Tis  young  Hamilton,"  cried  someone  in  the  crowd. 
"  Well,  make  us  a  speech  ;  we're  always  glad  to  hear  you, 
but  we'll  not  go  home  without  old  Cooper.  Don't  think 
it." 

Hamilton  never  remembered  what  nonsense  he  talked 
that  night.  Fortunately  words  always  came  with  a  rush, 
and  he  could  mix  up  politics,  wrongs,  the  clergy,  and  pa 
triotism,  in  so  picturesque  a  jumble  that  an  excited  crowd 
would  not  miss  his  usual  concise  logic.  "  Do  you  suppose 
he's  gone  ? "  he  whispered,  pausing  to  take  breath. 

"  Go  on,  go  on,"  said  Troup,  nervously,  "  I  hear  some 
one  moving." 

"Ah-h-h!" 

There  was  a  wild  yell  from  the  crowd,  and  a  hoarse  roar 
from  above.  Hamilton  and  Troup  looked  up.  Dr.  Cooper's 
infuriated  visage,  surrounded  by  a  large  frill,  projected  from 
his  bedroom  window.  "  Don't  listen  to  him,"  he  shrieked, 
thrusting  his  finger  at  Hamilton.  "  He's  crazy  !  He's 
crazy !  " 


142  THE   CONQUEROR 

"The  old  fool,"  fumed  Troup,  "he  thinks  you're  taking 
your  just  revenge.  If  I  could  get  inside  —  " 

Dr.  Cooper  was  jerked  back  by  a  friendly  hand  and  the 
window  slammed.  "  Someone  understands,"  whispered 
Troup,  excitedly;  "and  they'll  have  him  out  in  two  min 
utes.  Go  on,  for  heaven's  sake." 

Hamilton,  who  had  been  tearful  with  laughter,  began 
again  :  — 

"  I  appeal  to  you,  my  friends,  am  I  crazy  ? "  Indignant 
shouts  of  "No!  No!"  "Then  let  me,  I  pray,  make  a 
few  remarks  on  the  possibility  of  holding  New  York 
against  the  advancing  fleet,  that  you  can  testify  to  my 
sanity  to-morrow,  and  save  me  from  whatever  unhappy 
fate  this  irascible  gentleman  has  in  store  for  me." 

"  Go  ahead !  Go  ahead  !  "  cried  someone  in  the  mob. 
"  We  won't  let  him  touch  you." 

And  again  Hamilton  harangued  them,  until  Troup 
slipped  round  to  the  rear  of  the  big  building  and  returned 
with  word  that  Dr.  Cooper  was  safely  over  the  back  fence 
and  on  his  way  to  the  Asia.  When  Hamilton  announced 
the  flight,  there  was  muttering,  but  more  laughter,  for  the 
mob  was  in  a  better  humour  than  when  it  came. 

"  Well,  that  silver  tongue  of  yours  did  the  old  man  a 
good  turn  to-night,  but  you  shan't  make  fools  of  us  again." 
And  a  few  days  later,  when  Alexander  attempted  to  head 
off  the  same  mob  as  it  made  for  the  press  of  Rivington,  the 
Tory  printer,  they  would  not  listen  to  him.  But  the  effort 
raised  him  still  higher  in  the  estimation  of  the  patriots,  for 
they  saw  that  his  love  of  law  and  order  was  as  great  as  his 
passion  for  war. 

XVII 

In  January  the  convention  of  New  York  gave  orders 
that  a  company  of  artillery  be  raised.  Hamilton,  through 
Colonel  McDougall  of  the  First  New  York  regiment,  at 
once  applied  for  the  captaincy,  underwent  an  examination 
that  convinced  the  Congress  of  his  efficiency,  and  on  the 
1 4th  of  March  was  appointed  Captain  of  the  Provincial 
n  vnpany  of  Artillery.  McDougall  had  already  applied 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  143 

for  "coarse  blue  cloth,"  with  which  to  clothe  in  a  sem 
blance  of  uniform  those  who  already  had  enlisted,  and 
Hamilton  took  even  better  care  of  them.  On  May  26th 
he  wrote  a  brief,  pointed,  and  almost  peremptory  letter  to 
the  Congress,  representing  the  injustice  of  paying  his  men 
less  than  the  wages  received  by  the  Continental  artillery, 
adding  that  there  were  many  marks  of  discontent  in  his 
ranks,  and  that  in  the  circumstances  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  get  any  more  recruits.  "  On  this  account  I  should 
wish  to  be  immediately  authorized  to  offer  the  same  pay  to 
all  who  may  be  inclined  to  recruit,"  he  wrote.  He  then 
went  on  to  demand  ten  shillings  a  head  for  every  man  he 
should  be  able  to  enlist,  and  that  each  man  of  his  company 
be  allowed  a  frock  as  a  bounty. 

Congress  passed  a  resolution  as  soon  as  the  letter  was 
read,  granting  him  all  he  asked  for,  but  limiting  his  com 
pany  to  one  hundred  men.  When  it  was  recruited  to  his 
satisfaction,  it  numbered  ninety-one,  exclusive  of  himself 
and  his  four  officers.  Besides  his  Captain-Lieutenant,  and 
first,  second,  and  third  Lieutenants,  he  had  three  sergeants, 
three  corporals,  six  bombardiers,  three  gunners,  two  drum 
mers,  two  fifers,  a  barber,  and  seventy-one  matrosses,  or 
assistant  gunners. 

He  had  his  troubles,  and  Congress  came  to  the  rescue 
whenever  it  received  one  of  his  singularly  unboyish  letters, 
expressed,  moreover,  with  little  more  diffidence  than  if  he 
had  been  Commander-in-chief.  But  he  knew  what  he 
wanted,  and  he  never  transcended  courtesy ;  he  was  evi 
dently  a  favourite  with  the  Congress.  On  July  26th  he 
wrote  demanding  a  third  more  rations  for  his  men,  and  on 
the  3  ist  a  resolution  was  passed  which  marked  an  end  to 
the  disposition  to  keep  his  little  company  on  a  level  with  the 
militia  rather  than  with  the  regular  army.  Thereafter  he 
had  no  further  complaints  to  carry  to  headquarters ;  but 
he  was  annoyed  to  discover  that  one  of  his  officers  was  a 
hard  drinker,  and  that  the  Lieutenant  Johnson  who  had 
recruited  the  larger  number  of  his  men  before  he  assumed 
command,  had  disobeyed  orders  and  enlisted  them  for  a 
year  instead  of  for  the  term  of  war. 


144  THE   CONQUEROR 

Meanwhile,  although  the  very  air  quivered  and  every 
man  went  armed  to  the  teeth,  if  a  war-ship  fired  a  gun  the 
streets  were  immediately  filled  with  white  affrighted  faces ; 
and  although  redoubts  were  building  day  and  night,  still 
Congress  came  out  with  no  declaration,  and  the  country 
seemed  all  nerves  and  no  muscle.  The  English  fleet  ar 
rived  and  filled  the  bay,  —  a  beautiful  but  alarming  sight. 
Washington  came  and  made  New  York  his  headquarters, 
called  for  more  troops,  and  Brooklyn  Heights  were  fortified, 
lest  the  English  land  on  Long  Island  and  make  an  easy 
descent  on  the  city. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  Americans  have  ever  appreciated  all 
they  owe  to  Lord  Howe.  He  sat  out  in  the  harbour  day 
after  day,  while  they  completed  their  preparations,  prac 
tically  waiting  until  they  announced  themselves  ready  to 
fight.  But  no  man  ever  went  to  the  wars  with  less  heart 
for  his  work,  and  he  put  off  the  ugly  business  of  mow 
ing  down  a  people  he  admired,  hoping  from  day  to  day 
for  an  inspired  compromise.  It  was  not  until  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  by  the  Congress,  the  wild 
enthusiasm  it  excited  throughout  the  colonies,  and  the 
repeated  declination  of  Washington  to  confer  with  Howe 
as  a  private  citizen,  that  our  Chief  received  word  the 
British  Commander  was  landing  troops  on  Long  Island, 
near  Gravesend. 

Several  thousand  troops  were  ordered  across  to  reinforce 
the  Brooklyn  regiments,  and  Hamilton's  artillery  was  among 
them.  He  stood  up  in  his  boat  and  stared  eagerly  at  the 
distant  ridge  of  hills,  behind  which  some  twenty  thousand 
British  were  lying  on  their  arms  with  their  usual  easy 
disregard  of  time,  faint,  perhaps,  under  the  torrid  sun 
of  August.  But  they  were  magnificently  disciplined  and 
officered,  and  nothing  in  history  had  rivalled  the  rawness 
and  stubborn  ignorance  of  the  American  troops.  Hamilton 
had  not  then  met  Washington,  but  he  knew  from  common 
friends  that  the  Chief  was  worried  and  disgusted  by  what 
he  had  seen  when  inspecting  the  Brooklyn  troops  the  day 
before.  Greene,  second  only  to  Washington  in  ability,  who 
had  been  in  charge  of  the  Brooklyn  contingent,  knowing 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  145 

every  inch  of  the  ground,  was  suddenly  ill.  Putnam  was 
in  command,  and  the  Chief  was  justified  in  his  doubt  of 
him,  for  nothing  in  the  mistakes  of  the  Revolution  exceeded 
his  carelessness  and  his  errors  of  judgement  during  the  battle 
of  Long  Island. 

There  were  still  two  days  of  chafing  inactivity,  except  in 
the  matter  of  strengthening  fortifications,  then,  beginning 
with  dawn  of  the  28th,  Hamilton  had  his  baptism  of  fire 
in  one  of  the  bloodiest  battle-fields  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Americans  were  outgeneralled  and  outnumbered. 
Their  attention  was  distracted  by  land  and  water,  while  a 
British  detachment,  ten  thousand  strong,  crept  over  the  ridge 
of  hills  by  night,  and  through  the  Bedford  Pass,  overpowering 
the  guards  before  their  approach  was  suspected.  At  dawn 
they  poured  down  upon  the  American  troops,  surprising 
them,  not  in  one  direction,  but  in  flank,  in  rear,  and  in  front. 
The  green  woods  swarmed  with  redcoats,  and  the  Hessians 
acted  with  a  brutality  demoralizing  to  raw  troops.  Hamil 
ton's  little  company  behaved  well,  and  he  was  in  the  thick 
of  the  fight  all  day.  The  dead  were  in  heaps,  the  beauti 
ful  green  slopes  were  red,  there  was  not  a  hope  of  victory, 
but  he  exulted  that  the  colonies  were  fighting  at  last,  and 
that  he  was  acting ;  he  had  grown  very  tired  of  talking. 

He  was  driven  from  his  position  finally,  and  lost  his 
baggage  and  a  field-piece,  but  did  not  take  refuge  within 
the  redoubts  until  nightfall.  There,  in  addition  to  fatigue, 
hunger,  a  bed  on  the  wet  ground,  and  the  atmosphere  of 
hideous  depression  which  pressed  low  upon  the  new 
revolutionists,  he  learned  that  Troup  had  been  taken  pris 
oner.  Then  he  discovered  the  depths  to  which  a  mercurial 
nature  could  descend.  He  had  been  fiercely  alive  all  day ; 
the  roar  of  the  battle,  the  plunging  horses,  the  quickening 
stench  of  the  powder,  that  obsession  by  the  devil  of  battles 
which  makes  the  tenderest  kill  hot  and  fast,  all  had  made 
him  feel  something  more  than  himself,  much  as  he  had 
felt  in  the  hurricane  when  he  had  fancied  himself  on  high 
among  the  Berserkers  of  the  storm.  In  his  present  collapse 
he  felt  as  if  he  were  in  a  hole  underground. 

Washington  arrived  on  the  scene  next  morning,  and  for 


146  THE   CONQUEROR 

forty-eight  hours  he  barely  left  the  saddle,  encouraging  the 
wretched  men  and  exercising  an  unceasing  vigilance.  For 
two  long  days  they  were  inactive  in  the  rain.  The  Chief, 
having  assured  himself  that  the  British  aimed  to  obtain 
command  of  the  river,  determined  upon  the  retreat  which 
ranks  as  one  of  the  greatest  military  achievements  in  history. 
On  the  night  of  the  29th,  under  cover  of  a  heavy  fog, 
the  feat  of  embarking  nine  thousand  men,  with  all  the 
ammunition  and  field-pieces  of  the  army,  and  ferrying 
them  across  the  East  River  with  muffled  oars,  was  accom 
plished  within  earshot  of  the  enemy.  Washington  rode 
from  regiment  to  regiment,  superintending  and  encourag 
ing,  finally  taking  his  stand  at  the  head  of  the  ferry  stairs. 
He  stood  there  until  the  last  man  had  embarked  at  four  in 
the  morning.  The  last  man  was  Hamilton.  His  was  one 
of  the  regiments,  and  the  rear  one,  detailed  to  cover  the 
retreat,  to  attract  fire  to  itself  if  necessary.  His  position 
was  on  the  Heights,  just  outside  the  intrenchments,  at  the 
point  closest  to  the  enemy.  For  nine  hours  he  hardly  moved, 
his  ear  straining  for  the  first  indication  that  the  British 
heard  the  soft  splashing  of  bare  feet  in  the  mud.  The  fog 
was  so  thick  that  he  could  see  nothing,  not  even  the  battal 
ions  of  retreating  Americans ;  the  forms  of  his  own  men 
were  vague  and  gray  of  outline.  He  never  had  fancied  an 
isolation  so  complete,  but  his  nerves  stood  the  strain  ;  when 
they  began  to  mutter  he  reminded  himself  of  Mr.  Cruger's 
store  and  St.  Croix.  There  was  a  false  summons,  and  after 
turning  his  back  upon  his  post  with  a  feeling  of  profound 
relief,  he  was  obliged  to  return  and  endure  it  for  two  hours 
longer.  Did  the  fog  lift  he  would  never  see  another.  It 
was  dawn  when  a  messenger  came  with  the  news  that  his 
turn  positively  had  come,  and  he  marched  his  men  down 
the  slope  to  the  ferry  stairs.  He  passed  close  enough 
to  Washington  to  see  his  dejected,  haggard  face. 

On  the  1 5th  of  the  following  month,  after  much 
correspondence  with  Congress,  discussion,  and  voting,  it 
was  determined  to  abandon  New  York  City,  and  intrench 
the  army  on  the  Heights  of  Harlem.  Hamilton  was  bitterly 
disappointed  ;  he  wanted  to  defend  the  city,  and  so  had  three 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  147 

of  the  generals,  but  they  were  overruled,  and  the  march 
began  on  a  blazing  Sunday  morning.  It  was  not  only  the 
army  that  marched,  but  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  who 
had  not  escaped  to  the  Jersey  shore.  The  retreat  was  under 
the  command  of  General  Putnam,  and  guided  through  all 
the  intricacies  of  those  thirteen  winding  miles  by  his  aide- 
de-camp,  Aaron  Burr.  The  last  man  in  the  procession  was 
Alexander  Hamilton. 

"  So,  you're  covering  again,  Alexander,"  said  Fish,  as  he 
passed  him  on  his  way  to  his  own  regiment,  —  the  New 
York,  of  which  he  was  brigade-major.  "You  can't  com 
plain  that  your  adopted  country  doesn't  make  use  of  you. 
By  the  way,  Troup  is  in  the  Jersey  prison-ship,  safe  and 
sound." 

"Can't  we  exchange  him?"  asked  Hamilton,  eagerly, 
"  Do  you  think  General  Washington  would  listen  to 
us?" 

"  If  we  have  a  victory.  I  shouldn't  care  to  approach 
him  at  present.  God  !  This  is  an  awful  beginning.  The 
whole  army  is  ready  to  dig  its  own  grave.  The  only  per 
son  of  the  lot  who  has  any  heart  in  him  to-day  is  little 
Burr.  He's  like  to  burst  with  importance  because  he  leads 
and  we  follow.  He's  a  brave  little  chap,  but  such  a  ban 
tam  one  must  laugh.  Well,  I  hate  to  leave  you  here,  the 
very  last  man  to  be  made  a  target  of.  You  won't  be  rash  ?" 
he  added  anxiously. 

"  No,  granny,"  said  Hamilton,  whose  gaiety  had  revived 
as  he  heard  of  Troup's  safety.  "  And  I'd  not  exchange  my 
position  for  any." 

"Good-by." 

Handshakes  in  those  days  were  solemn.  Fish  feared 
that  he  never  should  see  Hamilton  again,  and  his  fear  was 
close  to  being  realized. 

It  was  a  long,  hot,  dusty,  miserable  march  ;  some  lay 
down  by  the  wayside  and  died.  Hamilton  had  been  bred 
in  the  heat  of  the  Tropics,  but  he  had  ridden  always,  and 
to-day  he  was  obliged  to  trudge  the  thirteen  miles  on  foot. 
He  had  managed  to  procure  horses  for  his  guns  and  cais 
sons,  but  none  for  himself  and  his  officers. 


148  THE   CONQUEROR 

It  was  on  the  Hoagland  farm  at  the  junction  of  the 
Kingsbridge  and  Bloomingdale  roads  that  a  serious  skirmish 
occurred,  and  Hamilton  and  his  men  stood  the  brunt  of  it. 
The  tired  column  was  almost  through  the  pass,  when  a 
detachment  of  British  light  infantry  suddenly  appeared  on 
the  right.  Fortunately  the  cannon  had  not  entered  the 
pass,  and  were  ready  for  action.  Hamilton  opened  fire  at 
once.  There  was  a  sharp  engagement,  but  the  British  were 
finally  driven  off.  Then  the  defenders  of  the  column 
made  good  their  own  retreat,  for  they  knew  that  by  now 
the  redcoats  were  swarming  over  the  island. 

Toward  night  a  cold  wind  and  rain  swept  in  from  the 
ocean.  When  the  little  army  finally  reached  Harlem 
Heights  they  were  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  wet  ground 
without  so  much  as  a  tent  to  cover  them,  then  arise  at 
dawn  and  dig  trenches.  But  by  night  they  were  men 
again,  they  had  ceased  to  be  dogged  machines  :  the  battle 
of  Harlem  Heights  had  been  fought  and  won.  The  Brit 
ish  had  begun  the  battle  in  the  wrong  place  and  at  the 
wrong  time,  and  all  the  natural  advantages  of  that  land  of 
precipices,  forests,  gorges,  wooded  hills,  and  many  ravines, 
were  with  the  Americans.  Again  Hamilton  worked  in  the 
thick  of  the  fight  during  the  four  hours  it  lasted,  but  like 
everybody  else  he  went  to  sleep  happy. 

XVIII 

He  rose  at  dawn  the  next  morning,  and  rousing  his  men, 
set  them  at  work  throwing  up  redoubts.  He  was  standing 
some  distance  from  them,  watching  the  sun  rise  over  the 
great  valley  they  had  been  forced  to  abandon,  with  its 
woods  and  beautiful  homes,  now  the  quarters  of  British 
officers,  when  every  nerve  in  his  body  became  intensely 
aware  that  some  one  was  standing  behind  him.  He  knew 
that  it  was  a  man  of  power  before  he  whirled  round  and 
saw  Washington. 

"This  is  Captain  Hamilton?"  said  the  Chief,  holding 
out  his  hand.  "  General  Greene  spoke  to  me,  weeks  ago, 
about  you,  but  I  have  been  in  no  mood  until  to-day  foi 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  149 

amenities.  I  know  of  your  part  in  the  retreat  from  Long 
Island,  and  I  noticed  you  as  you  passed  me  on  the  ferry 
stairs.  What  a  lad  you  are  !  I  am  very  proud  of  you." 

"  I  had  asked  for  no  reward,  sir,"  cried  Hamilton,  with 
a  smile  so  radiant  that  Washington's  set  face  caught  a 
momentary  reflection  from  it,  and  he  moved  a  step  nearer, 
"  but  I  feel  as  if  you  had  pinned  an  order  on  my  coat." 

"I  have  heard  a  great  deal  more  about  you,"  said  Wash 
ington,  "  and  I  want  to  know  you.  Will  you  come  up  and 
have  breakfast  with  me  ?  " 

"  Oil,  yes,  I  tvill"  said  Hamilton,  with  such  seriousness 
that  they  both  laughed.  Hamilton's  personal  pride  was 
too  great  to  permit  him  to  feel  deeply  flattered  by  the  at 
tentions  of  any  one,  but  the  halo  about  Washington's  head 
was  already  in  process  of  formation;  he  stood  aloft,  whether 
successful  or  defeated,  a  strong,  lonely,  splendid  figure,  and 
he  had  fired  Hamilton's  imagination  long  since.  At  that 
time  he  was  ready  to  worship  the  great  Chief  with  all  a 
boy's  high  enthusiasm,  and  although  he  came  to  know  him 
too  well  to  worship,  he  loved  him,  save  at  intervals,  always. 
As  for  Washington,  he  loved  Hamilton  then  and  there,  and 
it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  loved  any  one  else  so  well.  When 
they  were  alone  he  called  him  "  my  boy,"  an  endearment 
he  never  gave  another. 

On  that  September  morning  they  breakfasted  together, 
and  talked  for  hours,  beginning  a  friendship  which  was  to 
be  of  the  deepest  consequences  to  the  country  they  both 
were  striving  to  deliver. 

During  the  following  month  Hamilton  had  much  leisure, 
and  he  spent  it  in  the  library  of  the  Morris  house,  which 
its  owner,  a  royalist,  had  abandoned  on  the  approach  of  the 
American  troops,  fleeing  too  hurriedly  to  take  his  books. 
The  house  was  now  General  Washington's  headquarters, 
and  he  invited  Hamilton  to  make  what  use  of  the  library 
he  pleased.  It  was  a  cool  room,  and  he  found  there  many 
of  the  books  he  had  noted  down  for  future  study.  He  also 
wrote  out  a  synopsis  of  a  political  and  commercial  history 
of  Great  Britain.  As  the  proclivities  and  furnishing  of  a 
mind  like  Hamilton's  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  students  of 


150  THE    CONQUEROR 

mankind,  a  digression  may  be  pardoned  in  favour  of  this 
list  of  books  he  made  for  future  study,  and  of  the  notes 
scattered  throughout  his  pay  book  :  — 

Smith's  History  of  New  York ;  Leonidas ;  View  of  the  Universe ; 
Millet's  History  of  France ;  Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Brandenburgh  ; 
Review  of  the  Characters  of  the  Principal  Nations  of  Europe;  Review 
of  Europe ;  History  of  Prussia ;  History  of  France ;  Lassel's  Voyage 
through  Italy  ;  Robertson's  Charles  V  ;  Present  State  of  Europe  ;  Gre 
cian  History  ;  Baretti's  Travels  ;  Bacon's  Essays  ;  Philosophical  Trans 
actions  ;  Entick's  History  of  the  Late  War ;  European  Settlements  in 
America ;  Winn's  History  of  America. 

The  Dutch  in  Greenland  have  from  150  to  200  sail  and  ten  thousand 
seamen.  ...  It  is  ordered  that  in  their  public  prayers  they  pray  that  it 
should  please  God  to  bless  the  Government,  the  Lords,  the  States,  and 
their  great  and  small  fisheries. 

Hamburg  and  Germany  have  a  balance  against  England  —  they  fur 
nish  her  with  large  quantities  of  linen. 

Trade  with  France  greatly  against  England.  .  .  .  The  trade  with 
Flanders  in  favour  of  England.  ...  A  large  balance  in  favour  of  Nor 
way  and  Denmark. 

Rates  of  Exchange  with  the  several  Nations  in  52,  viz. :  To  Venice, 
Genoa,  Leghorn,  Amsterdam,  Hamburgh.  To  Paris  —  Loss,  Gain. 

Postlethwaite  supposes  the  quantity  of  cash  necessary  to  carry  on  the 
circulation  in  a  state  one  third  of  the  rents  to  the  land  proprietors,  or 
one  ninth  of  the  whole  product  of  the  lands.  See  the  articles,  Cash 
and  Circulation. 

The  par  between  land  and  labour  is  twice  the  quantity  of  land  whose 
product  will  maintain  the  labourer.  In  France  one  acre  and  a  half  will 
maintain  one.  In  England  three,  owing  to  the  difference  in  the  man 
ner  of  living. 

Aristotle's  Politics,  chap.  6,  definition  of  money,  &c. 

The  proportion  of  gold  and  silver,  as  settled  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton's 
proposition,  was  i  to  14.  It  was  generally  through  Europe  i  to  15. 
In  China  I  believe  it  is  I  to  10. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  labour  of  twenty-five  persons,  on  an  average, 
will  maintain  a  hundred  in  all  the  necessaries  of  life. 

Postlethwaite,  in  his  time,  supposes  six  millions  of  people  in  England. 
The  ratio  of  increase  has  been  found  by  a  variety  of  observations  to  be, 
that  100,000  people  augment  annually,  one  year  with  another  to — . 
Mr.  Kerseboom,  agreeing  with  Dr.  Halley,  makes  the  number  of  people 
thirty-five  times  the  number  of  births  in  a  year. 

Extracts  from  Demosthenes'  Orations. 

Philippic.  "  As  a  general  marches  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  so  ought 
wise  politicians,  if  I  dare  use  the  expression,  to  march  at  the  head  of 
affairs ;  insomuch  that  they  ought  not  to  wait  the  event,  to  know  what 
measures  to  take ;  but  the  measures  which  they  have  taken  ought  to 
produce  the  event." 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  151 

"Where  attack  him?  it  will  be  said.  Ah,  Athenians  —  war,  war, 
itself  will  discover  to  you  his  weak  sides,  if  you  will  seek  them." 

Sublimely  simple.     Vide  Long.  C.  16. 

Are  the  limits  of  the  several  states  and  the  acts  on  which  they  are 
founded  ascertained,  and  are  our  ministers  provided  with  them?  What 
intelligence  has  been  given  to  Congress  by  our  ministers  of  the  designs, 
strength  by  sea  and  land,  actual  interests  and  views  of  the  different 
powers  in  Europe? 

The  government  established  (by  Lycurgus)  remained  in  vigour  about 
five  hundred  years,  till  a  thirst  of  empire  tempted  the  Spartans  to  enter 
tain  foreign  troops,  and  introduce  Persian  gold  to  maintain  them  ;  then 
the  institutions  of  Lycurgus  fell  at  once,  and  avarice  and  luxury  suc 
ceeded. 

He  (Numa)  was  a  wise  prince,  and  went  a  great  way  in  civilizing  the 
Romans.  The  chief  engine  he  employed  for  this  purpose  was  religion, 
which  could  alone  have  sufficient  empire  over  the  minds  of  a  barbarous 
and  warlike  people  to  engage  them  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace. 

Dr.  Halley's  Table  of  Observations  exhibiting  the  probabilities  of 
life ;  containing  an  account  of  the  whole  number  of  people  of  Breslau, 
capital  of  Silesia,  and  the  number  of  those  of  every  age,  from  one  to  a 
hundred.  (Here  follows  the  table  with  comments  by  A.  H.) 

When  the  native  money  is  worth  more  than  the  par  in  foreign,  ex 
change  is  high  ;  when  worth  less,  it  is  low. 

Portugal  trade  —  Spanish  trade  —  Artificers  —  Money  —  Exchange 
—  Par  of  exchange  —  Balance  of  trade  —  Manufactures  —  Foundry  — 
Coin  —  Gold  —  Silver  —  Naval  Power  —  Council  of  trade  —  Fishery. 

Money  coined  in  England  from  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

Quere.  Would  it  not  be  advisable  to  let  all  taxes,  even  those  imposed 
by  the  States,  be  collected  by  persons  of  Congressional  appointment ; 
and  would  it  not  be  advisable  to  pay  the  collectors  so  much  per  cent, 
on  the  sums  collected? 

Hamilton  was  nineteen  at  this  time,  and  while  there  are 
many  instances  of  mental  precocity  in  the  history  of  man 
kind,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is  a  parallel  case  of  so  great  a 
range  of  intellectual  curiosity,  or  such  versatility  combined 
with  pursuit  of  knowledge  as  distinct  from  information. 
But  the  above  notes  are  chiefly  significant  as  showing  that 
long  before  he  could  have  dreamed  of  directing  the  finances 
of  the  United  States,  while  he  was  wild  with  delight  at  the 
prospect  of  military  excitement  and  glory,  a  part  of  his 
mind  was  imperiously  attracted  to  the  questions  which  were 
to  become  identified  in  American  history  with  his  name. 

Washington  often  came  in  and  sat  for  an  hour  with  him  ; 
and  although  they  talked  military  science  and  future  cam- 


152  THE  CONQUEROR 

paigns  invariably,  —  for  Washington  was  a  man  of  little 
reading  and  his  thoughts  moved  in  a  constant  procession 
to  one  tune,  —  this  was  perhaps  the  happiest  period  of  their 
intercourse.  The  Chief  demanded  nothing,  and  his  young 
friend  was  free  to  give  or  not,  as  he  chose.  In  that  interval 
nothing  gave  Hamilton  such  pleasure  as  to  see  Washington 
come  into  the  cool  library,  his  face  softening. 

"  You  have  a  streak  of  light  in  you  that  never  goes  out," 
said  the  man  of  many  burdens  once.  "When  I  catch  a 
spark  of  it,  I  am  cheered  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  When  I 
am  close  to  it  for  a  time,  I  can  feel  the  iron  lid  on  my  spirits 
lifting  as  if  it  were  on  a  bubbling  pot.  I  believe  you  are 
something  more  than  human." 

During  the  first  of  these  conversations  Hamilton  sug 
gested  the  advisability  of  keeping  up  the  spirits  of  the 
raw  troops  by  drawing  the  enemy  in  separate  detach 
ments  into  constant  skirmishes,  a  plan  in  which  the  Ameri 
cans  were  sure  to  have  every  advantage ;  and  this  policy 
was  pursued  until  Washington  fell  back  into  Westchester 
County. 

The  American  troops  under  Washington  numbered  about 
nineteen  thousand  men,  in  one-third  of  whom  the  Chief 
felt  something  like  confidence.  Many  were  grumbling  at 
the  prospect  of  a  winter  in  the  discomforts  of  camp  life ; 
others  were  rejoicing  that  their  time  of  service  drew  to  a 
close ;  all  were  raw.  Nevertheless,  he  determined  to  give 
the  British  battle  on  the  shore  of  the  Bronx  River,  where 
they  were  camped  with  the  intention  of  cutting  him  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  country. 

Both  armies  were  near  White  Plains  on  the  morning 
of  the  28th  of  October.  Most  of  the  Americans  were 
behind  the  breastworks  they  had  thrown  up,  and  the 
British  were  upon  the  hills  below,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Bronx.  On  the  American  side  of  the  stream  was  an 
eminence  called  Chatterton's  Hill,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  2/th  Colonel  Haslet  was  stationed  on  this  height, 
with  sixteen  hundred  men,  in  order  to  prevent  the  enfi 
lading  of  the  right  wing  of  the  army.  Early  the  next 
morning  McDougall  was  ordered  to  reinforce  Haslet  with 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  153 

a  small  corps  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  under  Hamilton, 
and  to  assume  general  command. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  British  army  began  its  march  toward 
the  village,  but  before  they  reached  it,  Howe  determined 
that  Chatterton's  Hill  should  be  the  first  point  of  attack, 
and  four  thousand  troops  under  Leslie  moved  off  to  dis 
lodge  the  formidable  looking  force  on  the  height. 

Hamilton  placed  his  two  guns  in  battery  on  a  rocky  ledge 
about  halfway  down  the  hill,  and  bearing  directly  upon 
that  part  of  the  Bronx  which  the  British  were  approach 
ing.  He  was  screened  from  the  enemy  by  a  small  grove 
of  trees.  The  Hessians,  who  were  in  the  lead,  refused  to 
wade  the  swollen  stream,  and  the  onslaught  was  checked 
that  a  bridge  might  hastily  be  thrown  together  for  their 
accommodation.  Hamilton  waited  a  half-hour,  then  poured 
out  his  fire.  The  bridge  was  struck,  the  workmen  killed, 
the  Hessians  fell  back  in  a  panic.  Leslie  appealed  to  the 
loyalty  of  the  British,  forded  the  river  at  another  point, 
and  rushed  up  the  hill  with  bayonets  fixed,  resolved  to 
capture  the  guns.  But  the  guns  flashed  with  extraordinary 
rapidity.  Both  the  British  and  the  watching  Americans 
were  amazed.  There  were  no  tin  canisters  and  grape-shot 
in  the  American  army,  even  the  round  shot  were  exhausted. 
Loading  cannon  with  musket  balls  was  a  slow  process ;  but 
Hamilton  was  never  without  resource.  He  stood  the  cannon 
on  end,  filled  his  three-cornered  hat  with  the  balls,  and 
loaded  as  rapidly  as  had  he  leaped  a  century.  His  guns 
mowed  down  the  British  in  such  numbers  that  Leslie  fell 
back,  and  joining  the  Hessian  grenadiers  and  infantry, 
who  had  now  crossed  the  stream,  charged  up  the  south 
western  declivity  of  the  hill  and  endeavoured  to  turn 
McDougall's  right  flank.  McDougall's  advance  opposed 
them  hotly,  while  slowly  retreating  toward  the  crown  of 
the  eminence.  The  British  cavalry  attacked  the  American 
militia  on  the  extreme  right,  and  the  raw  troops  fled  igno- 
miniously.  McDougall,  with  only  six  hundred  men  and 
Hamilton's  two  guns,  sustained  an  unequal  conflict  for  an 
hour,  twice  repulsing  the  British  light  infantry  and  cavalry. 
But  the  attack  on  his  flank  compelled  him  to  give  way  and 


154  THE   CONQUEROR 

retreat  toward  the  intrenchments.  Under  cover  of  a  heavy 
rainstorm  and  of  troops  despatched  in  haste,  he  retreated 
in  good  order  with  his  wounded  and  artillery,  leaving  the 
victors  in  possession  of  a  few  inconsiderable  breastworks. 

Fort  Washington  was  betrayed,  and  fell  on  the  i6th 
of  November.  Then  began  that  miserable  retreat  of  the 
American  army  through  the  Jerseys,  with  the  British  some 
times  in  full  pursuit,  sometimes  merely  camping  on  the  trail 
of  the  hapless  revolutionists.  For  Washington's  force  was 
now  reduced  to  thirty-five  hundred,  and  they  were  ragged, 
half  fed,  and  wretched  in  mind  and  body.  Many  had  no 
shoes,  and  in  one  regiment  there  was  not  a  pair  of  trou 
sers.  They  left  the  moment  their  leave  expired,  and  re 
cruits  were  drummed  up  with  great  difficulty.  Washington 
was  obliged  to  write  eight  times  to  General  Lee,  who  was 
at  North  Castle  with  a  considerable  force,  before  he  was 
able  to  hope  for  relief  in  that  quarter. 

Hamilton  had  a  horse  at  times,  at  others  not.  But  his 
vitality  was  proof  against  even  those  endless  days  and 
nights  of  marching  and  countermarching,  through  forests 
and  swamps,  in  the  worst  of  late  autumn  and  winter 
weather ;  and  he  kept  up  the  spirits  of  his  little  regiment, 
now  reduced  from  bullets,  exposure,  and  the  expiration  of 
service  to  thirty  men.  Nevertheless,  he  held  the  British  in 
check  at  the  Raritan  River  while  the  Americans  destroyed 
the  bridge,  and  when  Washington,  after  having  crossed 
the  Delaware,  determined  to  recross  it  on  Christmas  night 
and  storm  Trenton,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  chosen, 
with  what  remained  of  his  men  and  guns. 

As  they  crossed  the  Delaware  that  bitter  night,  the  snow 
stinging  and  blinding,  the  river  choked  with  blocks  of  ice, 
Hamilton  for  the  first  time  thought  on  St.  Croix  with  a 
pang  of  envy.  But  it  was  the  night  for  their  purpose,  and 
all  the  world  knows  the  result.  The  victory  was  followed 
on  the  3d  of  January  by  the  capture  of  Princeton ;  and 
here  Hamilton's  active  military  career  came  to  an  end  for 
the  present. 

Well  do  I  recollect  the  day  [wrote  a  contemporary]  when  Hamilton's 
company  marched  into  Princeton.  It  was  a  model  of  discipline.  At 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON  155 

{heir  head  was  a  boy,  and  I  wondered  at  his  youth  ;  but  what  was  my 
surprise,  when,  struck  with  his  slight  figure,  he  was  pointed  out  to  me 
as  that  Hamilton  of  whom  we  had  heard  so  much. 

I  noticed  [a  veteran  officer  said  many  years  after]  a  youth,  a  mere 
stripling,  small,  slender,  almost  delicate  in  frame,  marching  beside  a 
piece  of  artillery,  with  a  cocked  hat  pulled  down  over  his  eyes,  ap 
parently  lost  in  thought ;  with  his  hand  resting  on  a  cannon,  and  every 
now  and  again  patting  it  as  if  it  were  a  favourite  horse  or  a  pet  play 
thing. 


BOOK   III 

THE   LITTLE   LION 


Hamilton's  body  succumbed  to  the  climax  of  Trenton 
and  Princeton  upon  months  of  hardship  and  exposure,  and 
he  was  in  hospital  for  a  week  with  a  rheumatic  fever.  But 
Troup,  whose  exchange  had  been  effected,  was  with  him 
most  of  the  time,  and  his  convalescence  was  made  agree 
able  by  many  charming  women.  He  was  not  the  only 
brilliant  young  man  in  the  army,  for  Troup,  Fish,  Burr, 
Marshall,  were  within  a  few  months  or,  at  most,  a  year  or 
two  of  his  age,  and  there  were  many  others ;  men  had  ma 
tured  early  in  that  hot  period  before  the  Revolution,  when 
small  boys  talked  politics,  and  even  the  women  thought 
of  little  else  ;  but  Hamilton,  through  no  fault  of  his,  had 
inspired  his  friends  with  the  belief  that  he  was  something 
higher  than  human,  and  they  never  tired  of  sounding  his 
praises.  Moreover,  Washington  had  not  hesitated  to  say 
what  he  thought  of  him,  and  the  mere  fact  that  he  had 
won  the  affection  of  that  austere  Chieftain  was  enough  to 
give  him  celebrity.  At  all  events,  he  was  a  dazzling  figure, 
and  pretty  women  soothed  many  a  weary  hour.  As  for 
Troup,  who  was  unpleasantly  anatomical,  he  had  a  fresh 
story  for  every  day  of  the  horrors  of  the  prison  cattle-ship 
Mentor,  where  half  the  prisoners  had  died  of  filth,  starva 
tion,  and  fever,  from  putrid  water  and  brutal  treatment. 

But  never  was  there  a  more  impatient  invalid  than 
Hamilton.  He  was  astonished  and  disgusted  that  his 
body  should  defy  his  mind,  and  at  the  first  moment  possi 
ble  he  was  up  and  about  his  duties  with  the  army  at 
Morristown.  Troup  was  ordered  to  join  the  army  under 
Gates  in  the  North. 

Morristown  was  a  natural  fortress,  a  large  fertile  valley, 
protected  by  precipitous  hills  and  forests,  yet  with  defiles 


160  THE   CONQUEROR 

known  to  the  Americans,  through  which  they  could  retreat 
if  necessary.  It  was  within  striking  distance  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Amboy,  in  which  towns  Washington  kept 
the  British  cooped  up  for  months,  not  permitting  them  to 
cut  a  stick  of  forest  wood  without  fighting  for  it.  "  Here 
was  seen,"  to  quote  Hamilton,  "the  spectacle  of  a  power 
ful  army  straitened  within  narrow  limits  by  the  phantom 
of  a  military  force,  and  never  permitted  to  transgress 
those  limits  with  impunity;  in  which  skill  supplied  the 
place  of  means,  and  disposition  was  the  substitute  for  an 
army. 

Congress  had  invested  Washington  with  such  extraor 
dinary  powers  after  the  brilliant  exploit  at  Trenton,  that 
in  Europe  he  was  called  "The  Dictator  of  America." 
Therein  lay  the  sole  cause  of  the  ultimate  victory  of  the 
Revolutionists,  and  had  the  States  been  more  generous, 
and  less  jealous  of  delegating  powers  to  Congress,  he  would 
have  driven  out  the  British  in  short  order. 

Mrs.  Washington  had  joined  her  General — she  kept  an 
eye  on  him  — -  at  Freeman's  Tavern,  which  had  been  con 
verted  into  comfortable  headquarters,  and  he  was  happy 
in  his  military  family  :  Colonel  Harrison,  indefatigable  and 
fearless,  affectionately  known  as  "  Old  Secretary  "  ;  Tench 
Tilghman  of  Maryland,  young,  accomplished,  cheerful,  de 
voted  to  Washington  and  serving  without  pay,  for  his  for 
tune  was  considerable ;  Richard  Kidder  Meade,  sprightly, 
enthusiastic,  always  willing  to  slave ;  and  John  Fitzgerald, 
—  all  in  an  attitude  of  perpetual  adoration.  But  he  lacked 
a  secretary  of  the  requisite  ability,  and  as  soon  as  he  heard 
of  Hamilton's  return  to  camp  he  sent  for  him. 

Hamilton  was  feeling  almost  well,  and  he  walked  rapidly 
across  the  village  green  to  headquarters,  delighted  at  the 
prospect  of  seeing  Washington  again.  He  had  acquired  a 
military  air  and  walked  more  erectly  than  ever,  for  he  was 
somewhat  sensitive  of  his  juvenile  appearance.  He  found 
Washington  in  a  front  room  on  the  second  floor.  The 
General  wore  his  usual  blue  and  buff,  and  looked  less 
harassed  and  worn  than  when  he  had  last  seen  him.  He 
rose  and  shook  hands  warmly  with  Hamilton,  who  thanked 


THE   LITTLE   LION  161 

him  again  for  the  messages  he  had  received  while  in 
hospital. 

"  I  would  have  had  you  brought  here  if  there  had  been 
any  place  to  make  you  comfortable  ;  and  I  am  going  to  ask 
you  to  come  and  live  with  me  now — as  my  aide  and  sec 
retary." 

Hamilton  sprang  to  his  feet  impetuously.  "  Oh,  sir  !  " 
he  exclaimed,  "  I  don't  want  to  leave  the  regular  line  of 
promotion !  I  don't  want  to  leave  my  men.  I'm  much 
attached  to  them.  And  I'll  not  deny  my  ambition,  sir ;  I 
want  opportunities  to  distinguish  myself.  I've  already 
refused  two  generals.  This  war  will  last  for  years.  There 
is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  I  should  not  be  a  general  in 
three." 

"  No,"  said  Washington,  "there  is  none  ;  there  is  every 
possibility  of  your  becoming  one  of  the  most  brilliant  fig 
ures  on  the  revolutionary  battle-fields.  I  admit  that,  and 
I  understand  your  ambition.  Nevertheless,  I  think  I  can 
prove  to  you  that  there  is  another  way  in  which  you  can 
serve  your  country  better.  I  know  your  uncompromising 
sense  of  duty  and  your  high  patriotism,  and  I  am  sure  you 
will  accept  my  invitation  when  I  prove  to  you  that  while 
there  are  hundreds  to  fight  valorously,  even  brilliantly, 
there  is  scarcely  a  man  I  can  get  to  write  my  letters  who 
can  do  more  than  punctuate  properly  or  turn  a  sentence 
neatly.  You  must  know  the  inexpressible  value  of  a  brill 
iant  accomplished  versatile  secretary,  with  a  brain  capa 
ble  of  grasping  every  question  that  arises  —  and  you  can 
imagine  how  many  of  that  sort  have  come  my  way.  I  have 
been  driven  nearly  distracted,  dictating,  explaining,  revis 
ing —  when  I  have  so  much  else  to  think  of.  Besides  the 
constant  correspondence  with  the  Congress  and  the  States, 
something  else  is  always  turning  up  —  to-day  it  is  the  ex 
change  of  prisoners,  a  most  important  and  delicate  matter. 
Were  you  my  secretary,  you  would  also  be  my  brain  :  a 
word  would  be  sufficient.  I  could  trust  you  so  implicitly 
that  if  matters  pressed  I  could  confidently  sign  my  name 
to  whatever  you  wrote  without  reading  it  over.  There  is 
no  one  else  living  of  whom  I  can  say  that.  You  are  the 


1 62  THE   CONQUEROR 

most  useful  young  man  in  America,  and  if  you  will  give 
your  great  brain  to  this  country  from  this  time  on,  she  will 
be  far  more  grateful  to  you  than  if  you  merely  continued 
to  fight,  splendidly  as  you  have  done  that.  And  /  need 
you —  I  have  no  words  to  tell  you  how  much." 

"Sir,"  said  Hamilton,  deeply  touched,  "no  human 
being  could  withstand  such  an  appeal,  and  your  words  of 
praise  are  glory  enough.  I  will  come  as  soon  as  you  say, 
and  do  the  best  I  can." 

"Come  at  once.  The  British  persist  in  treating  us  as 
rebels.  It  is  for  you,  with  your  inspired  pen,  to  force  and 
coax  them  to  regard  us  with  the  respect  an  educated  think 
ing  people  —  not  a  horde  of  ignorant  rebels,  as  they  im 
agine —  deserve.  If  you  do  that,  you  will  do  a  greater 
service  to  your  country  than  if  you  rose  to  be  first  in 
military  rank.  Here  are  some  notes.  When  you  have 
finished,  write  to  Congress  and  ask  for  the  rank  of  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  ;  and  move  up  here  to-day,  if  possible.  I 
cannot  tell  you  how  happy  I  shall  be  to  have  you  a  mem 
ber  of  my  family." 

Washington  had  won  his  point.  A  shrewd  judge  of 
men,  he  had  calculated  upon  Hamilton  succumbing  to  an 
appeal  to  his  sense  of  patriotic  duty  —  the  strongest  pas 
sion  in  his  passionate  nature.  Much  as  he  loved  Hamil 
ton,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  using  him,  and  our  petted 
young  hero  was  to  learn  what  work  meant  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life.  He  wrote  most  of  the  day,  often  half  the 
night ;  but  although  he  chafed  angrily  at  the  confinement, 
beat  many  a  tattoo  on  the  floor  with  his  heels,  and  went 
for  a  hard  ride  more  than  once  that  he  might  keep  his 
temper,  the  result  was  that  mass  of  correspondence,  signed 
"  George  Washington,"  which  raised  the  commander  of  the 
American  forces  so  high  in  the  estimation  of  Europe,  add 
ing  to  his  military  renown  the  splendour  of  a  profound  and 
luminous  intellect. 

There  was,  also,  some  correspondence  with  the  Congress 
regarding  the  disposition  of  his  artillery  men.  He  insisted 
upon  definite  provision  for  them,  and  they  were  permitted 
to  enlist  in  the  Continental  Army.  They  loved  him,  and 


THE   LITTLE   LION  163 

the  final  parting  on  March  i8th,  with  cannon  as  well  as 
men !  —    —  made  him  ill  for  half  a  day. 

Otherwise  his  life  at  Headquarters  was  very  pleasant. 
Tilghman  and  Meade  became  two  of  the  most  congenial 
friends  he  ever  made.  The  tavern  was  comfortable,  and 
he  had  a  room  to  himself  for  a  time.  The  dining  room 
reunions  were  agreeable  in  spite  of  their  formality.  Be 
sides  the  amiable  military  family,  and  the  most  motherly 
of  women,  who  knit  him  stockings  and  kept  his  wardrobe 
in  order,  there  were  frequent  visitors.  The  Livingston 
girls  were  spending  the  winter  with  their  aunt,  Lady 
Sterling,  and,  with  their  beautiful  cousin,  the  Lady  Kitty 
Alexander,  often  drove  over  to  a  five  o'clock  dinner  or 
the  more  informal  supper.  The  Boudinots  and  Morgans, 
the  generals  in  camp  at  Morristown  and  their  wives, 
and  the  more  distinguished  officers,  were  frequently  dined 
at  Headquarters.  Washington  sat  halfway  in  the  table's 
length,  with  Mrs.  Washington  opposite.  Hamilton  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  table  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  a 
seat  he  retained  while  a  member  of  the  family.  The  Chief 
encouraged  him  to  talk,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  he 
talked  from  the  time  he  sat  down  till  the  meal  finished. 
His  ideas  were  always  on  the  rush,  and  talking  was  merely 
thinking  aloud.  As  he  expressed  himself  with  wit  and 
elegance,  and  on  subjects  which  interested  them  all  pro 
foundly,  illuminating  everything  he  touched,  old  men  and 
young  would  lean  forward  and  listen  with  respect  to  the 
wisdom  of  a  young  man  who  was  yet  an  infant  in  the  eyes 
of  the  law.  How  he  escaped  being  insufferably  spoiled 
can  only  be  explained  by  the  ceaseless  activity  of  his  brain, 
and  the  fact  that  the  essence  of  which  prigs  are  made  was 
not  in  him.  That  he  was  utterly  without  commonplace 
conceit  is  indisputable,  for  he  was  the  idol  of  the  family. 
Harrison  christened  him  "The  Little  Lion,"  a  name  his 
friends  used  for  their  aptest  designation  as  long  as  he 
lived,  and  assumed  a  paternal  relation  which  finished  only 
with  the  older  man's  death.  The  Lady-in-chief  made 
such  a  pet  of  him  that  he  was  referred  to  in  the  irreverent 
Tory  press  as  "  Mrs.  Washington's  Tom-cat." 


1 64  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  Alexander,"  said  Kitty  Livingston  to  him,  one  day, 
"  have  a  care.  You  are  too  fortunate.  The  jealous  gods 
will  smite  you." 

But  Hamilton,  thinking  of  those  terrible  months  in  the 
previous  year,  of  mental  anxiety  and  physical  hardship, 
when,  in  bitter  weather,  he  had  often  gone  hungry  and 
insufficiently  clothed,  and  of  his  present  arduous  duties, 
concluded  there  was  a  fine  balance  in  his  affairs  which 
doubtless  would  placate  the  gods. 

II 

In  May  and  July  there  were  illustrious  additions  to  Wash 
ington's  family, — John  Laurens  and  Lafayette.  Both  be 
came  the  intimate  friends  of  Hamilton,  the  former  one 
of  the  few  passionate  attachments  of  his  life.  Although 
Hamilton  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to  the  affection 
he  inspired  in  nine-tenths  of  the  people  he  met,  he  did  not 
himself  love  easily.  He  was  too  analytical,  he  saw  people 
too  precisely  as  they  were,  and  his  acquaintance  with  human 
nature  had  made  him  too  cynical  to  permit  the  flood  gates 
of  his  affections  to  open  except  under  uncommon  stress. 
He  dreaded  disappointment.  For  Troup,  Fish,  Stevens, 
Meade,  and  Tilghman  he  had  a  deep  affection  and  served 
their  interests  ardently ;  for  Washington  a  contradictory 
budget  of  emotions,  which  were  sometimes  to  be  headed 
"respectful  affection,"  at  others  "irritated  resentment," 
now  and  again  a  moment  of  adoration.  While  he  could 
not  pay  sufficient  tribute  to  Washington's  magnanimity 
and  generosity,  he  had  by  now  seen  him  in  too  many  tem 
pers,  had  been  ground  too  fine  in  his  greedy  machine,  to 
think  on  him  always  with  unqualified  enthusiasm.  Lafay 
ette,  brilliant,  volatile,  accomplished,  bubbling  with  enthu 
siasm  for  the  cause  of  Liberty,  and  his  own  age  within  a 
few  months,  he  liked  sincerely  and  always.  There  was  no 
end  to  the  favours  he  did  him,  and  Lafayette  loved  no  one 
better  in  his  long  and  various  career.  Women,  Hamilton 
fancied  sharply  and  forgot  quickly. 

But  Laurens,  the  "young  Bayard  of  the  Revolution,"  fresh 


THE   LITTLE   LION  165 

from  the  colleges  and  courts  of  Europe,  a  man  so  hand 
some  that,  we  are  told,  people  experienced  a  certain  shock 
when  he  entered  the  room,  courtly,  accomplished  to  the 
highest  degree,  of  flawless  character,  with  a  mind  as  noble 
and  elevated  as  it  was  intellectual,  and  burning  with  the 
most  elevated  patriotism,  —  he  took  Hamilton  by  storm, 
capturing  judgement  as  well  as  heart,  and  loving  him  as 
ardently  in  return. 

Like  Hamilton,  Laurens  was  of  Huguenot  descent ;  he 
was  born  in  South  Carolina,  of  a  distinguished  family. 
Against  the  expressed  wish  of  his  father  he  had  returned 
to  America,  made  his  way  to  Headquarters  and  offered  his 
services  to  Washington,  who  immediately  attached  him  to 
his  military  household.  The  unhappiest  of  men,  praying 
for  death  on  every  battle-field,  he  lived  long  enough  to  dis 
tinguish  himself  by  a  bravery  so  reckless,  by  such  startling 
heroic  feats,  that  he  was,  beyond  all  question,  the  popular 
young  hero  of  the  Revolution.  He  worshipped  Washington 
as  one  might  worship  a  demi-god,  and  risked  his  life  for 
him  on  two  occasions.  But  Hamilton  was  the  friend  of  his 
life ;  the  bond  between  them  was  romantic  and  chivalrous. 
Each  burned  to  prove  the  strength  of  his  affection,  to 
sacrifice  himself  for  the  other.  Laurens  slaved  at  Wash 
ington's  less  important  correspondence,  and  Hamilton's 
turn  came  later.  The  age  has  passed  for  such  friendships  ; 
but  at  that  time,  when  young  men  were  nurtured  on  great 
ideas,  when  they  were  sacrificing  themselves  in  a  sacred 
cause,  and  had  seen  next  to  nothing  of  the  frivolities  of 
life,  they  were  understandable  enough. 

Hamilton  was  obliged  to  share  his  room  with  both  the 
young  men,  and  they  slept  on  three  little  cots  in  a  small 
space.  When  the  nights  were  insufferably  hot  they  would 
go  out  and  lie  on  the  grass  and  talk  until  they  were  in 
a  condition  to  sleep  anywhere.  Hamilton  would  forecast 
the  next  movement  of  the  enemy  ;  Laurens  and  Lafayette 
would  tell  all  they  knew  about  military  science  in  Europe ; 
and  then  they  would  discuss  the  future  of  the  liberated 
country  and  the  great  ideals  which  must  govern  her.  And 
when  men  can  be  idealistic  while  fighting  the  Jersey 


J66  THE   CONQUEROR 

mosquito,  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  are  of  the  stuff  to 
serve  their  country  well. 

But  all  this  delightful  intercourse  was  interrupted  in 
August.  Washington  gave  battle  to  the  British  at  Brandy- 
wine,  was  defeated,  and  in  the  following  month  surprised 
them  at  Germantown,  and  was  defeated  again.  Neverthe 
less,  he  had  astonished  the  enemy  with  his  strength  and 
courage  so  soon  after  a  disastrous  battle.  To  hold  Phila 
delphia  was  impossible,  however,  and  the  British  established 
themselves  in  the  Capital  of  the  colonies,  making,  as  usual, 
no  attempt  to  follow  up  their  victories. 

Washington  went  into  temporary  quarters  near  the  vil 
lage  of  Whitemarsh.  His  own  were  in  a  baronial  hall  at 
the  head  of  a  beautiful  valley.  Old  trees  shaded  the 
house,  and  a  spring  of  pure  water  bubbled  in  a  fountain 
before  the  door.  The  men  were  encamped  on  the  hills 
at  the  north. 

There  was  a  great  hall  through  the  centre  of  the  man 
sion,  and  here  Washington  held  his  audiences  and  councils 
of  war.  The  house  throughout  was  of  extreme  elegance, 
and  much  to  the  taste  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
family,  particularly  of  Hamilton,  who  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  leisure  in  the  library.  But  his  enjoyment  of 
this  uncommon  luxury  was  brief. 

Washington  must  have  reinforcements  or  his  next  en 
gagement  might  be  his  last.  There  was  but  one  source 
from  which  he  could  obtain  a  considerable  supply,  and 
that  was  from  the  army  of  Gates  in  the  North.  But  Gates 
was  swollen  with  the  victory  of  Saratoga  and  the  capture 
of  Burgoyne,  and  was  suspected  to  be  in  the  thick  of  an 
intrigue  to  dethrone  Washington  and  have  himself  pro 
claimed  Commander-in-chief.  At  the  moment  he  was  the 
idol  of  the  army,  and  of  the  northern  and  eastern  States, 
for  his  victories  were  tangible  and  brilliant,  while  Wash 
ington's  surer  processes  were  little  appreciated.  There 
fore  to  get  troops  from  him  would  be  little  less  difficult 
than  to  get  them  from  Lord  Howe,  short  of  a  positive 
command,  and  this  prerogative  Washington  did  not  think 
it  politic  to  use.  He  called  a  council  of  war,  and  when  it 


THE   LITTLE   LION  167 

was  over  he  went  to  his  private  office  and  sent  for  Alex 
ander  Hamilton. 

He  looked  haggard,  as  if  from  sleepless  nights,  and  for 
a  moment  after  Hamilton  entered  the  room,  although  he 
waved  his  hand  at  a  chair,  he  stared  at  him  without  speak 
ing.  Hamilton  divined  what  was  coming  —  he  attended 
all  councils  of  war  —  and  sat  forward  eagerly.  The  pros 
pect  of  a  holiday  from  clerical  work  would  alone  have 
filled  him  with  youth,  and  he  knew  how  great  a  service 
he  might  be  able  to  render  the  cowering  Republic. 

"  Hamilton,"  said  Washington,  finally,  "you  are  as  much 
in  my  secret  thoughts  as  I  am  myself.  If  I  attempted  to 
deceive  you,  you  would  divine  what  I  withheld.  It  is  a 
relief  to  speak  frankly  to  you.  I  dare  not  demand  these 
troops  from  Gates,  because  there  is  more  than  a  possibility 
he  would  defy  me,  and  that  the  Congress  and  a  large  part  of 
the  army  would  sustain  him.  He  has  given  sufficient  evi 
dence  of  his  temper  in  sending  me  no  official  notice  of  the 
battle  of  Saratoga.  But  unless  I  am  to  meet  with  over 
whelming  disaster  here,  I  must  have  reinforcements.  It 
may  be  possible  to  extract  these  by  diplomacy,  and  I  have 
selected  you  for  the  mission,  because  I  feel  sure  that  you 
will  not  forget  the  issues  at  stake  for  a  moment,  because 
you  never  lose  your  head,  and  because  you  will  neither  be 
overawed  by  Gates's  immediate  splendour,  nor  will  you  have 
any  young  desire  to  assert  the  authority  which  I  give  you 
as  a  last  resort.  There  is  another  point :  If  you  find  that 
Gates  purposes  to  employ  his  troops  on  some  expedition, 
by  the  prosecution  of  which  the  common  cause  will  be 
more  benefited  than  by  their  being  sent  down  to  reinforce 
this  army,  you  must  suspend  your  consideration  for  me. 
God  knows  I  am  tender  of  my  reputation,  and  I  have  no 
wish  to  be  disgraced,  but  we  are  or  should  be  fighting 
for  a  common  cause  and  principle,  and  should  have  little 
thought  of  individual  glory.  However,  I  do  not  believe  in 
the  disinterestedness  of  Gates,  nor  in  his  efficiency  on  a 
large  scale.  Bat  I  leave  everything  in  your  hands." 

Hamilton  stood  up,  his  chest  rising,  and  stared  at  his  Chief. 

"  Sir,"  he  said,  after  a  moment,  "do  you  appreciate  that 


1 68  THE   CONQUEROR 

you  are  placing  your  good  name  and  your  future  in  my 
hands  ?  "  For  a  moment  he  realized  that  he  was  not  yet 
of  age. 

"  You  are  the  only  being  to  whom  I  can  confide  them, 
and  who  can  save  this  terrible  situation." 

"  And  you  have  the  magnanimity  to  say  that  if  Gates 
has  a  chance  of  other  victories  to  let  him  go  unhindered  ? " 
He  had  one  of  his  moments  of  adoration  and  self-abnega 
tion  for  this  man,  whose  particular  virtues,  so  little  called 
upon  in  ordinary  affairs,  gave  him  so  lonely  a  place  among 
men. 

Washington  jerked  his  head.  There  was  nothing  more 
to  say.  Hamilton's  head  dropped  for  a  moment,  as  if  he 
felt  the  weight  of  an  iron  helmet,  and  his  lips  moved 
rapidly. 

"Are  you  saying  your  prayers  when  your  lips  work  like 
that  ?  "  asked  Washington,  crossly. 

Hamilton  threw  back  his  head  with  a  gay  laugh.  His 
eyes  were  sparkling,  his  nostrils  dilating ;  his  whole  bear 
ing  was  imperious  and  triumphant.  "  Never  mind  that. 
I'll  undertake  this  mission  gladly,  sir,  and  I  think  I'll  not 
fail.  My  old  friend  Troup  is  his  aide.  He  will  advise  me 
of  many  things.  I'll  bring  you  back  those  regiments,  sir. 
One  way  or  another  a  thing  can  always  be  managed." 

The  light  in  Hamilton's  face  was  reflected  on  Washing 
ton's.  "  You  are  my  good  genius,"  he  said  shortly.  "  Take 
care  of  yourself.  You  will  have  to  ride  hard,  for  there  is 
no  time  to  lose,  but  be  careful  not  to  take  cold.  I  shall 
give  you  orders  in  writing.  Come  back  as  soon  as  you 
can.  I  believe  I  am  not  lacking  in  courage,  but  I  always 
have  most  when  you  are  close  by." 

There  is  a  print  somewhere  representing  Hamilton  set 
ting  forth  on  this  mission.  He  is  mounted  on  a  handsome 
white  horse,  and  wears  a  long  green  cloak,  one  end  thrown 
over  a  shoulder.  His  three-cornered  hat  is  pulled  low  over 
his  eyes.  In  the  rear  is  an  orderly. 

He  started  on  the  3Oth  of  October,  riding  hard  through 
the  torn  desolate  country,  toward  Newburg  on  the  Hudson. 
He  was  three  days  making  the  distance,  although  he 


THE   LITTLE   LION  169 

snatched  but  a  few  hours'  rest  at  night,  and  but  a  few 
moments  for  each  meal.  From  Newburg  he  crossed  to 
Fishkill  and,  acting  on  his  general  instructions,  ordered 
Putnam  to  despatch  southward  three  brigades ;  and  on  his 
own  account  despatched  seven  hundred  Jersey  militia  on 
the  same  expedition. 

He  then  started  hot  and  hard  for  Albany,  a  dangerous 
as  well  as  exhausting  journey,  for  neither  savage  tribes 
nor  redcoats  could  be  far  in  the  distance.  His  mental 
anxiety  by  now  wore  as  severely  as  the  physical  strain. 
None  knew  better  than  he  that  his  talents  were  not  for 
diplomacy.  He  was  too  impatient,  too  imperious,  too 
direct  for  its  sinuous  methods.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had 
a  theory  that  a  first-rate  mind  could,  for  a  given  time,  be 
bent  in  any  direction  the  will  commanded,  and  he  had 
acquired  an  admirable  command  of  his  temper.  But  the 
responsibility  was  terrific,  and  he  was  half  ill  when  he 
reached  Albany.  He  presented  himself  at  General  Gates's 
headquarters  at  once. 

Gates,  like  Lee,  was  a  soldier  of  fortune  ;  and  low-born, 
vain,  weak,  and  insanely  ambitious.  He  had  been  advised 
of  Hamilton's  coming,  and  had  no  intention  of  giving 
Washington  an  opportunity  to  rival  his  own  achievements 
and  reestablish  himself  with  the  army  and  the  Congress. 
He  received  Hamilton  surrounded  by  several  of  his  mili 
tary  family ;  and  for  the  first  time  our  fortunate  hero 
encountered  in  high  places  active  enmity  and  dislike.  He 
had  incurred  widespread  jealousy  on  account  of  his  influ 
ence  over  Washington,  and  for  the  important  part  he  was 
playing  in  national  affairs.  To  the  enemies  of  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  he  represented  that  exalted  personage,  and 
was  particularly  obnoxious.  Never  was  a  youth  in  a  more 
difficult  position. 

"  I  cannot  expose  the  finest  arsenal  in  America,"  said 
Gates,  pompously,  "to  the  possibility  of  destruction.  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  may  return  at  any  minute.  Nor  could  I 
enterprise  against  Ticonderoga  were  my  army  depleted. 
Nor  can  I  leave  the  New  England  States  open  to  the 
ravages  and  the  depredations  of  the  enemy." 


170  THE   CONQUEROR 

These  statements  made  no  impression  on  Hamilton,  and 
he  argued  brilliantly  and  convincingly  for  his  object,  but 
Gates  was  inflexible.  He  would  send  one  brigade  and  no 
more. 

Hamilton  retired,  uneasy  and  dejected.  Gates  had  an 
air  of  omnipotence,  and  his  officers  had  not  concealed  their 
scorn.  He  hesitated  to  use  his  authority,  for  a  bold  defi 
ance  on  the  part  of  Gates  might  mean  the  downfall  of 
Washington,  perhaps  of  the  American  cause.  That  Wash 
ington  was  practically  the  American  army,  Hamilton  firmly 
believed.  If  he  fell,  it  was  more  than  likely  that  the  whole 
tottering  structure  would  crumble. 

Another  reason  inclined  him  not  to  press  Gates  too  far. 
He  had  been  able  to  order  seventy-seven  hundred  troops 
from  Fishkill,  which  was  more  than  Washington  had  ex 
pected,  although  by  no  means  so  many  as  he  needed.  He 
therefore  wrote  to  the  Chief  at  length,  sent  for  Troup,  and 
threw  himself  on  the  bed ;  he  was  well-nigh  worn  out. 

Troup  was  already  in  search  of  him,  and  met  the  mes 
senger.  Big  and  bronzed,  bursting  with  spirits,  he  seemed 
to  electrify  the  very  air  of  the  room  he  burst  into  without 
ceremony.  Hamilton  sat  up  and  poured  out  his  troubles. 

"  You  have  an  affinity  for  posts  of  danger,"  said  Troup. 
"  I  believe  you  to  be  walking  over  a  powder-mine  here.  I 
am  not  in  their  confidence,  for  they  know  what  I  think  of 
Washington,  but  I  believe  there  is  a  cabal  on  foot,  and  that 
Gates  may  be  in  open  rebellion  any  minute.  But  he's  a 
coward  and  a  bully.  Treat  him  as  such.  Press  your 
point  and  get  your  troops.  He  is  but  the  tool  of  a 
faction,  and  I  doubt  if  they  could  make  him  act  when  it 
came  to  the  point.  He  wants  to  make  another  grand 
coup  before  striking.  Look  well  into  what  regiment  he 
gives  you.  Which  are  you  to  have?" 

"General  Patterson's." 

"  I  thought  as  much.  It  is  the  weakest  of  the  three  now 
here,  consists  of  but  about  six  hundred  rank  and  file  fit  for 
duty.  There  are  two  hundred  militia  with  it,  whose  time 
of  service  is  so  near  expiring  that  they  will  have  dissolved 
ere  you  reach  Headquarters." 


THE   LITTLE   LION  171 

Hamilton  had  sprung  to  his  feet  in  a  fury.  He  forgot 
Ms  pains,  and  let  his  temper  fly  with  satisfaction  in  the 
exercise.  "  If  that  is  the  case,"  he  cried,  when  he  had 
finished  his  anathema  of  Gates,  "  I'll  have  the  men  ; "  and 
he  dashed  at  his  writing  materials.  But  he  threw  his  pen 
aside  in  a  moment.  "  I'll  wait  till  to-morrow  for  this.  I 
must  be  master  of  myself.  Tell  me  of  Saratoga.  You 
distinguished  yourself  mightily,  and  no  one  was  more  glad 
than  I." 

Troup  talked  while  Hamilton  rested.  That  evening  he 
took  him  to  call  at  the  Schuyler  mansion,  high  on  the 
hill. 

Philip  Schuyler  was  the  great  feudal  lord  of  the  North. 
He  had  served  the  colonial  cause  in  many  ways,  and  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolution  had  been  one  of  its  hopes  and 
props.  But  brilliant  as  his  exploits  had  been,  the  intrigues 
of  Gates,  after  the  fall  of  Ticonderoga,  had  been  successful, 
and  he  was  deprived  of  the  army  of  the  North  before  the 
battle  of  Saratoga.  The  day  of  exoneration  came,  but  at 
present  he  was  living  quietly  at  home,  without  bitterness. 
A  man  of  the  most  exalted  character,  he  drew  added 
strength  from  adversity,  to  be  placed  at  the  service  of  the 
country  the  moment  it  was  demanded.  Mrs.  Schuyler, 
herself  a  great-granddaughter  of  the  first  patroon,  Killian 
Van  Rensselaer,  was  a  woman  of  strong  character,  an 
embodied  type  of  all  the  virtues  of  the  Dutch  pioneer 
housewife.  She  had  a  lively  and  turbulent  family  of 
daughters,  however,  and  did  not  pretend  to  manage  them. 
The  spirit  of  our  age  is  feeble  and  bourgeois  when  com 
pared  with  the  independence  and  romantic  temper  of  the 
stormy  days  of  this  Republic's  birth.  Liberty  was  in  the 
air;  there  was  no  talk  but  of  freedom  and  execration 
of  tyrants;  young  officers  had  the  run  of  every  house, 
and  Clarissa  Harlowe  was  the  model  for  romantic  young 
"females."  Angelica  Schuyler,  shortly  before  the  battle 
of  Saratoga,  had  run  off  with  John  Barker  Church,  a  young 
Englishman  of  distinguished  connections,  at  present  mas 
querading  under  the  name  of  Carter ;  a  presumably  fatal 
duel  having  driven  him  from  England.  Subsequently, 


1 72  THE   CONQUEROR 

both  Peggy  and  Cornelia  Schuyler  climbed  out  of  windows 
and  eloped  in  a  chaise  and  four,  although  there  was  not 
an  obstacle  worth  mentioning  to  union  with  the  youths  of 
their  choice.  It  will  shock  many  good  mothers  of  the 
present  day  to  learn  that  all  these  marriages  were  not 
only  happy,  but  set  with  the  brilliance  of  wealth  and 
fashion.  When  Hamilton  was  introduced  to  the  famous 
white  hall  of  the  Schuyler  mansion  on  the  hill,  Cornelia 
and  Peggy  were  still  free  in  all  but  fancy ;  Elizabeth,  by 
far  the  best  behaved,  was  the  hope  of  Mrs.  Schuyler's 
well-regulated  soul  and  one  of  the  belles  of  the  Revolution. 
Hamilton  was  enchanted  with  her,  although  his  mind  was 
too  weighted  for  love.  Her  spirits  were  as  high  as  his 
own,  and  they  talked  and  laughed  until  midnight  as  gaily 
as  were  Gates's  army  marching  south.  But  Hamilton  was 
a  philosopher  ;  nothing  could  be  done  before  the  morrow ; 
he  might  as  well  be  happy  and  forget.  He  had  met  many 
clever  and  accomplished  American  women  by  this,  and  Lady 
Kitty  Alexander  and  Kitty  and  Susan  Livingston  were  brill 
iant.  He  had  also  met  Angelica  Church,  or  Mrs.  Carter,  as 
she  was  called,  one  of  the  cleverest  and  most  high-spirited 
women  of  her  time.  It  had  crossed  his  mind  that  had  she 
been  free,  he  might  have  made  a  bold  dash  for  so  fascinating 
a  creature,  but  it  seemed  to  him  to-night  that  on  the  whole 
he  preferred  her  sister.  "  Betsey  "  Schuyler  had  been  given 
every  advantage  of  education,  accomplishment,  and  constant 
intercourse  with  the  best  society  in  the  land.  She  had 
skill  and  tact  in  the  management  of  guests,  and  without 
being  by  any  means  a  woman  of  brilliant  parts,  understood 
the  questions  of  the  day  ;  her  brain  was  informed  with 
shrewd  common  sense.  Hamilton  concluded  that  she  was 
quite  clever  enough,  and  was  delighted  with  her  beauty, 
her  charm  of  manner,  and  style.  Her  little  figure  was 
graceful  and  distinguished,  her  complexion  the  honey  and 
claret  that  artists  extol,  and  she  had  a  pair  of  big  black 
eyes  which  were  alternately  roguish,  modest,  tender,  sym 
pathetic  ;  there  were  times  when  they  were  very  lively, 
and  even  suggested  a  temper.  She  was  bright  without 
attempting  to  be  witty,  but  that  she  was  deeply  apprecia- 


THE   LITTLE   LION  173 

tive  of  wit  Hamilton  had  soothing  cause  to  know.  And 
he  had  learned  from  the  admiring  Troup  that  she  was  as 
intrepid  as  she  was  wholly  and  daintily  feminine.  Alto 
gether,  Hamilton's  fate  was  sealed  when  he  bent  over  her 
hand  that  night,  although  he  was  far  from  suspecting  it, 
so  heavily  did  duty  press  the  moment  he  was  alone  in  his 
rooms. 

On  the  following  morning  he  asked  for  an  interview  with 
Genera]  Schuyler  and  several  other  military  men  whom 
he  knew  to  be  friendly  to  Washington,  and  they  confirmed 
the  advice  of  Troup.  In  the  afternoon  he  wrote  to  Gates 
a  letter  that  was  peremptory,  although  dignified  and  cir 
cumspect,  demanding  the  addition  of  a  superior  brigade. 
He  expressed  his  indignation  in  no  measured  terms,  and 
in  more  guarded  phrases  his  opinion  of  the  flimsiness  of 
the  victorious  General's  arguments.  Gates  sent  the  troops 
at  once,  and  despatched  a  volume  of  explanation  to  Wash 
ington. 

Hamilton  set  out  immediately  for  New  Windsor,  Troup 
bearing  him  company  the  greater  part  of  the  way,  for  he 
was  feeling  very  ill.  But  he  forgot  his  ailments  when  he 
arrived.  To  his  fury  he  discovered  that  not  a  regiment 
had  gone  south.  Two  of  the  brigades,  which  had  received 
no  pay  for  eight  months,  had  mutinied,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  ask  Governor  Clinton  to  borrow  $5000,  with  which  to 
pay  them  off.  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  despatching  them, 
wrote  a  peremptory  letter  to  Putnam,  who  had  other  plans 
brewing,  another  to  Gates,  asking  for  further  reinforce 
ments,  then  went  to  bed  in  Governor  Clinton's  house  with 
fever  and  rheumatism.  But  he  wrote  to  Washington, 
apprising  him  of  a  scheme  among  the  officers  of  the  north 
ern  department  to  recover  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
denouncing  Putnam  in  the  most  emphatic  terms.  Two 
days  later  he  recovered  sufficiently  to  proceed  to  Fishkill, 
where  he  wrested  troops  from  Putnam,  and  ascertained 
that  heavy  British  reinforcements  had  gone  from  that 
neighbourhood  to  Howe.  He  wrote  at  once  to  Washing 
ton,  advising  him  of  his  peril,  and  endeavoured  to  push  on  ; 
but  his  delicate  frame  would  stand  no  more,  and  on  the 


174  THE    CONQUEROR 

1 5th  he  went  to  bed  in  Mr.  Kennedy's  house  in  Peek- 
skill,  with  so  violent  an  attack  of  rheumatism  that  to  his 
bitter  disgust  he  was  obliged  to  resign  himself  to  weeks  of 
inactivity.  But  he  had  the  satisfaction  to  receive  a  letter 
from  Washington  approving  all  that  he  had  done.  And 
in  truth  he  had  saved  the  situation,  and  Washington  never 
forgot  it. 

Ill 

Hamilton  rejoined  the  army  at  Valley  Forge  and  soon 
recovered  his  health  and  spirits.  It  was  well  that  the  spirits 
revived,  for  no  one  else  during  that  terrible  winter  could  lay 
claim  to  any.  The  Headquarters  were  in  a  small  valley, 
shut  in  by  high  hills  white  with  snow  and  black  with  trees 
that  looked  like  iron.  The  troops  were  starving  and  freez 
ing  and  dying  a  mile  away,  muttering  and  cursing,  but 
believing  in  Washington.  On  a  hill  beyond  the  pass 
Lafayette  was  comfortable  in  quarters  of  his  own,  but 
bored  and  fearing  the  worst.  Laurens  chafed  at  the  inac 
tion  ;  he  would  have  had  a  battle  a  day.  As  the  winter 
wore  on,  the  family  succumbed  to  the  depressing  influence 
of  unrelieved  monotony  and  dread  of  the  future,  and  only 
Hamilton  knew  to  what  depths  of  anxiety  Washington 
could  descend.  But  despair  had  no  part  in  Hamilton's 
creed.  He  had  perfect  faith  in  the  future,  and  announced 
it  persistently.  He  assumed  the  mission  of  keeping  the 
family  in  good  cheer,  and  they  gave  him  little  time  for  his 
studies.  As  for  Washington,  even  when  Hamilton  was 
not  at  his  desk,  he  made  every  excuse  to  demand  his  pre 
sence  in  the  private  office ;  and  Hamilton  in  his  prayers 
humorously  thanked  his  Almighty  for  the  gift  of  a  cheer 
ful  disposition.  It  may  be  imagined  what  a  relief  it  was 
when  he  and  Laurens,  Meade,  or  Tilghman  raced  each 
other  up  the  icy  gorge  to  Lafayette's,  where  they  were  often 
jollier  the  night  through  than  even  a  cheerful  disposition 
would  warrant.  Hamilton,  although  he  had  not  much  of  a 
voice,  learned  one  camp-song,  "  The  Drum,"  and  this  he 
sang  with  such  rollicking  abandon  that  it  fetched  an 
explosive  sigh  of  relief  from  the  gloomiest  breast. 


THE    LITTLE   LION  175 

There  were  other  duties  from  which  Hamilton  fled  to 
the  house  on  the  hill  for  solace.  Valley  Forge  harboured 
a  heterogeneous  collection  of  foreigners,  whose  enthusiasm 
had  impelled  them  to  offer  swords  and  influence  to  the 
American  cause :  Steuben,  Du  Portail,  De  Noailles,  Cus- 
tine,  Fleury,  Du  Plessis,  the  three  brothers  Armand, 
Ternant,  Pulaski,  and  Kosciusko.  They  had  a  thousand 
wants,  a  thousand  grievances,  and  as  Washington  would 
not  be  bothered  by  them,  their  daily  recourse  was  Hamil 
ton,  whom  they  adored.  To  him  they  could  lament  in 
voluble  French  ;  he  knew  the  exact  consolation  to  adminis 
ter  to  each,  and  when  it  was  advisable  he  laid  their  afflic 
tions  before  Washington  or  the  Congress.  They  bored 
him  not  a  little,  but  he  sympathized  with  them  in  their 
Cimmerian  exile,  and  it  was  necessary  to  keep  them  in  the 
country  for  the  sake  of  the  moral  effect.  But  he  congratu 
lated  himself  on  his  capacity  for  work. 

"  I  used  to  wish  that  a  hurricane  would  come  and  blow 
Cruger's  store  to  Hell,"  he  said  one  day  to  Laurens,  "  but 
I  cannot  be  sufficiently  thankful  for  that  experience  now. 
It  made  me  as  methodical  as  a  machine,  gave  my  brain  a 
system  without  which  I  never  could  cope  with  this  mass 
of  work.  I  have  this  past  week  dried  the  tears  of  seven 
Frenchmen,  persuaded  Steuben  that  he  is  not  Europe, 
nor  yet  General  Washington,  and  without  too  much  offend 
ing  him,  written  a  voluminous  letter  to  Gates  calculated 
to  make  him  feel  what  a  contemptible  and  traitorous  ass 
he  is,  yet  giving  him  no  chance  to  run,  blubbering,  with  it 
to  the  Congress,  and  official  letters  ad  nanseum.  I  wish 
to  God  I  were  out  of  it  all,  and  about  to  ride  into  battle  at 
the  head  of  a  company  of  my  own." 

"  And  how  many  widows  have  you  consoled  ?  "  asked 
Laurens.  He  was  huddled  in  his  cot,  trying  to  keep  warm. 

"  None,"  said  Hamilton,  with  some  gloom.  "I  haven't 
spoken  to  a  woman  for  three  weeks." 

It  was  a  standing  joke  at  Headquarters  that  Washington 
always  sent  Hamilton  to  console  the  widows.  This  he  did 
with  such  sympathy  and  tact,  such  address  and  energy,  that 
his  friends  had  occasionally  been  forced  to  extricate  him 


176  THE   CONQUEROR 

from  complications.  But  it  was  an  accomplishment  in 
which  he  excelled  as  long  as  he  lived. 

"  The  Chief  will  never  let  you  go,"  pursued  Laurens. 
"  And  as  there  is  no  one  to  take  your  place,  you  really 
should  not  wish  it.  Washington  may  be  the  army,  but 
you  are  Washington's  brain,  and  of  quite  as  much  impor 
tance.  You  should  never  forget  —  " 

"  Come  out  and  coast.  That  will  warm  your  blood," 
interrupted  Hamilton.  His  own  sense  of  duty  was  not  to 
be  surpassed,  but  he  had  rebellious  moods,  when  preaching 
suggested  fisticuffs. 

Outside  they  met  a  messenger  from  Lafayette,  begging 
them  to  repair  to  his  quarters  at  once.  There  they  found 
him  entertaining  a  party  of  charming  women  from  a  neigh 
bouring  estate  ;  and  a  half-hour  later  the  dignity  and  fash 
ion  of  Washington's  family  might  have  been  seen  coasting 
down  a  steep  hill  with  three  Philadelphian  exiles,  who  were 
as  accomplished  in  many  ways  as  they  were  satisfying  to 
look  upon. 

It  was  one  of  those  days  when  a  swift  freeze  has  come 
with  a  rain-storm.  Hamilton  had  stood  at  the  window  of 
the  office  for  an  hour,  early  in  the  day,  biting  the  end  of 
his  quill,  and  watching  the  water  change  to  ice  as  it  struck 
the  naked  trees,  casing  every  branch  until,  when  the  sun 
came  out,  the  valley  was  surrounded  by  a  diamond  forest, 
the  most  radiant  and  dazzling  of  winter  sights.  The  sun 
was  still  out,  its  light  flashed  back  from  a  million  facets, 
the  ground  was  hard  and  white,  the  keen  cold  air  awoke 
the  blood,  and  the  three  young  men  forgot  their  grum 
blings,  and  blessed  the  sex  which  has  alleviated  man's  bur 
dens  so  oft  and  well. 

IV 

In  June  the  military  ardours  of  this  distinguished  young 
trio  were  gratified  to  the  point  of  temporary  exhaustion. 
The  British  evacuated  Philadelphia  on  the  i8th,  and  pro 
ceeded  up  the  Delaware  in  New  Jersey.  Captain  Allan 
McLane  had,  as  early  as  May  2 5th,  reported  to  Washington 


THE   LITTLE   LION  177 

the  enemy's  intention  to  change  their  quarters  for  New 
York,  and  Washington's  desire  was  to  crush  them  by  a 
decisive  blow.  At  a  council  of  war,  however,  it  was  de 
cided  merely  to  hang  upon  the  skirts  of  the  retreating 
army  and  avoid  an  engagement.  Lee  was  aggressive, 
almost  insulting,  in  counselling  inaction.  Washington, 
much  embarrassed,  but  hesitating  to  ignore  the  decisions 
of  the  council,  followed  the  enemy  by  a  circuitous  route, 
until  he  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  Princeton.  The 
British  were  in  and  about  Allentown.  Washington  called 
another  council  of  war,  and  urged  the  propriety  of  forc 
ing  an  engagement  before  the  enemy  could  reach  the 
Heights  of  Monmouth.  Again  Lee  overruled,  being  sus 
tained  by  the  less  competent  generals,  who  were  in  the  ma 
jority.  As  soon  as  the  council  broke  up,  Hamilton  sought 
out  General  Greene  and  led  him  aside.  Greene  was  white 
and  dejected,  but  Hamilton's  face  was  hot,  and  his  eyes 
were  flashing. 

"  I  believe  that  Lee  is  in  the  pay  of  the  British  or  the 
Conway  Cabal,"  he  exclaimed.  "  I've  always  believed  him 
ready  at  any  minute  to  turn  traitor.  It's  a  pity  he  wasn't  left 
to  rot  in  prison.  Washington  must  fight.  His  honour  is  at 
stake.  If  he  lets  the  British  walk  off  while  we  sit  and 
whistle,  his  influence  with  the  army  will  be  gone,  Europe 
will  have  no  more  of  him,  the  Conway  Cabal  will  have  the 
excuse  it's  been  watching  at  keyholes  for,  and  Gates  will 
be  Commander-in-chief  to-morrow.  Will  you  come  with 
me  and  persuade  him  to  fight?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Greene.  "And  I  believe  he  will.  You  are 
like  a  sudden  cold  wind  on  an  August  day.  Come  on." 

They  walked  rapidly  toward  Washington's  tent.  He  was 
sitting  on  his  camp-stool,  but  rose  as  they  approached. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "I  anticipate  the  object  of  your 
visit.  You  wish  me  to  fight." 

"Yes!"  exclaimed  Hamilton.  "As  much  as  you  wish 
h  yourself.  Why  should  you  regard  the  councils  of  the 
traitorous  and  the  timorous,  who,  for  aught  you  know, 
may  be  in  the  pay  of  the  Cabal?  If  the  British  retreat 
unmolested,  the  American  army  is  disgraced.  If  Con- 


1 78  THE   CONQUEROR 

gress  undertake  to  manage  it,  the  whole  cause  will  be  lost, 
and  the  British  will  be  stronger  far  than  when  we  took  up 
arms  —  " 

"Enough,"  said  Washington.     "We  fight." 

He  ordered  a  detachment  of  one  thousand  men,  under 
General  Wayne,  to  join  the  troops  nearest  the  enemy.  La 
fayette  was  given  the  command  of  all  the  advance  troops 
—  Lee  sulkily  retiring  in  his  favour  —  which  amounted  to 
about  four  thousand.  Hamilton  was  ordered  to  accompany 
him  and  reconnoitre,  carry  messages  between  the  divisions, 
and  keep  Washington  informed  of  the  movements  of  the 
enemy.  There  was  but  a  chance  that  he  would  be  able  to 
fight,  but  the  part  assigned  to  him  was  not  the  least  danger 
ous  and  important  at  Washington's  disposal.  The  Chief 
moved  forward  with  the  main  body  of  the  army  to  Cran- 
bury. 

Clinton  had  no  desire  to  fight,  being  encumbered  with 
a  train  of  baggage-wagons  and  bathorses,  which  with  his 
troops  made  a  line  on  the  highroad  twelve  miles  long.  It 
being  evident  that  the  Americans  intended  to  give  battle, 
he  encamped  in  a  strong  position  near  Monmouth  Court 
house,  protected  on  nearly  all  sides  by  woods  and  marshes. 
His  line  extended  on  the  right  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
beyond  the  Court-house,  and  on  the  left,  along  the  road 
toward  Allentown,  for  about  three  miles. 

This  disposition  compelled  Washington  to  increase  the 
advance  corps,  and  he  ordered  Lee  to  join  Lafayette  with 
two  brigades.  As  senior  officer,  Lee  assumed  command  of 
the  whole  division,  under  orders  to  make  the  first  attack. 
Both  Lafayette  and  Hamilton  were  annoyed  and  appre 
hensive  at  this  arrangement.  "Washington  is  the  shrewd 
est  of  men  in  his  estimates  until  it  is  a  matter  of  personal 
menace,"  said  Hamilton,  "and  then  he  is  as  trusting  as  a 
country  wench  with  a  plausible  villain.  I  thought  we  had 
delivered  him  from  this  scoundrel,  and  now  he  has  delib 
erately  placed  his  fortunes  in  his  hands  again.  Mark  you, 
Lee  will  serve  us  some  trick  before  the  battle  is  over." 

Hamilton  had  been  galloping  back  and  forth  night 
and  day  between  Lafayette's  division  and  Headquarters, 


THE   LITTLE   LION  179 

wherever  they  happened  to  be,  and  reconnoitring  con 
stantly.  The  weather  was  intensely  hot,  the  soil  so  sandy 
that  his  horse  often  floundered.  He  had  not  had  a  full 
night's  sleep  since  Washington  announced  his  decision  to 
give  battle,  and  he  would  have  been  worn  out,  had  he  not 
been  too  absorbed  and  anxious  to  retain  any  consciousness 
of  his  body.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  a  for 
ward  movement  being  observed  on  the  part  of  the  enemy, 
Washington  immediately  put  the  army  in  motion  and  sent 
word  to  Lee  to  press  forward  and  attack. 

Lee  looked  uglier  and  dirtier  than  usual,  and  the  very 
seat  of  his  breeches  scowled  as  he  rode  forward  leisurely. 
In  a  few  moments  he  halted,  word  having  been  brought  him 
that  the  main  body  of  the  British  was  advancing. 

"  If  we  could  but  court-martial  him  on  the  spot,"  groaned 
Lafayette,  whose  delicate  boyish  face  was  crumpled  with 
anxiety. 

"  He  meditates  treason !  "  exclaimed  Hamilton.  "  It  is 
writ  all  over  him." 

Having  ascertained  that  the  rumour  was  false,  Lee  con 
sented  to  move  on  again,  and  the  division  entered  the  forest, 
their  advance  covered  from  the  British  on  the  plains  be 
yond.  For  a  time  Lee  manoeuvred  so  cleverly  that  Hamil 
ton  and  Lafayette  permitted  themselves  to  hope.  Under 
cover  of  the  forest  he  formed  a  portion  of  his  line  for 
action,  and  with  Wayne,  Hamilton,  and  others,  rode  for 
ward  to  reconnoitre.  Concluding  that  the  column  of  the 
British  deploying  on  the  right  was  only  a  covering  party 
of  two  thousand,  he  manoeuvred  to  cut  them  off  from  the 
main  army.  Wayne  was  detached  with  seven  hundred 
men  to  attack  the  covering  party  in  the  rear.  Lee,  with  a 
stronger  force,  was  to  gain  its  front  by  a  road  to  the  left. 
Small  detachments  were  concealed  in  the  woods.  At  nine 
o'clock,  the  Queen's  dragoons  being  observed  upon  an  emi 
nence  near  the  wood,  Lee  ordered  his  light-horse  to  decoy 
them  to  the  point  where  Wayne  was  posted.  The  dragoons 
appeared  to  fall  into  the  trap,  but  upon  being  attacked 
from  the  wood,  galloped  off  toward  the  main  column. 
Wayne  started  in  pursuit ;  his  artillery  was  raking  them,  and 


i8o  THE  CONQUEROR 

he  had  ordered  a  charge  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  when, 
to  his  amazement,  he  received  an  order  from  Lee  to  make 
but  a  feint  of  attack  and  pursuit.  He  had  no  choice  but  to 
obey,  brilliant  as  might  be  the  victory  wrested  from  him. 
Lee,  meanwhile,  dawdled  about,  although  his  troops  were 
on  one  foot  with  impatience. 

Suddenly  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  learning  that  the  Ameri 
cans  were  marching  in  force  on  both  his  flanks,  with  the 
design  of  capturing  his  baggage,  changed  the  front  of  his 
army  by  facing  about  in  order  to  attack  Wayne  with  such 
deadly  fire  that  the  enemy  on  his  flanks  would  be  obliged 
to  fly  to  the  succour  of  that  small  detachment.  Lafayette 
immediately  saw  the  opportunity  for  victory  in  the  rear  of 
the  enemy,  and  rode  up  to  Lee  asking  permission  to  make 
the  attempt. 

Lee  swung  his  loose  head  about  and  scowled  at  the 
ardent  young  Frenchman.  "  Sir,"  he  replied  witheringly, 
"you  do  not  know  British  soldiers.  We  cannot  stand 
against  them.  We  certainly  shall  be  driven  back  at  first. 
We  must  be  cautious." 

"  It  may  be  so,  General,"  replied  Lafayette,  who  would 
have  given  much  to  see  that  head  rolling  on  the  sands; 
"  but  British  soldiers  have  been  beaten,  and  they  may  be 
again.  At  any  rate,  I  am  disposed  to  make  the  trial." 

Lee  shrugged  his  shoulders,  but  as  Lafayette  sat  im 
movable,  his  clear  hazel  eyes  interrogating  and  astonished, 
he  reluctantly  gave  the  Marquis  the  order  to  wheel  his 
column  to  the  right  and  attack  the  enemy's  left.  He 
simultaneously  weakened  Wayne's  detachment  and  went 
off  to  reconnoitre.  He  afterward  claimed  that  he  saw 
what  looked  to  be  the  approach  of  the  entire  army,  and  he 
ordered  his  right  to  fall  back.  The  brigades  of  Scott  and 
Maxwell  on  the  left  were  already  moving  forward  and 
approaching  the  right  of  the  Royal  forces,  when  they 
received  an  order  from  Lee  to  reenter  the  wood.  At  the 
same  time  an  order  was  sent  to  Lafayette  to  fall  back  to 
the  Court-house.  With  a  face  as  flaming  as  his  unpow- 
dered  head,  he  obeyed.  Upon  reaching  the  Court-house 
he  learned  that  a  general  retreat  had  begun  on  the  right, 


THE   LITTLE   LION  181 

under  the  immediate  command  of  Lee.  He  had  no  choice 
but  to  follow. 

Hamilton,  hardly  crediting  that  his  worst  fears  were 
realized  in  this  unwarranted  retreat,  galloped  over  to  Lee 
and  urged  that  possession  be  taken  of  a  neighbouring  hill 
that  commanded  the  plain  on  which  the  enemy  were  ad 
vancing.  But  Lee  protested  violently  that  the  Americans 
had  not  a  chance  against  that  solid  phalanx,  and  Hamilton, 
now  convinced  that  he  meditated  the  disgrace  of  the  Ameri 
can  arms,  galloped  with  all  speed  in  search  of  Washington. 

The  retreat,  by  this,  was  a  panic.  The  troops  fled  like 
an  army  of  terrified  rabbits,  with  that  reversion  to  the 
simplicity  of  their  dumb  ancestors  which  induces  the  sus 
picion  that  all  the  manly  virtues  are  artificial.  In  times  of 
panic  man  seems  to  exchange  his  soul  for  a  tail.  These 
wretches  trampled  each  other  into  the  shifting  sand,  and 
crowded  many  more  into  the  morass.  The  heat  was  ter 
rific.  They  ran  with  their  tongues  hanging  out,  and  many 
dropped  dead. 

Washington  heard  of  the  retreat  before  Hamilton  found 
him.  He  was  pushing  on  to  Lee's  relief  when  a  country 
man  brought  him  word  of  the  disgraceful  rout.  Washing 
ton  refused  to  credit  the  report  and  spurred  forward. 
Halfway  between  the  meeting-house  and  the  morass  he 
met  the  head  of  the  first  retreating  column.  He  com 
manded  it  to  halt  at  once,  before  the  panic  be  communi 
cated  to  the  main  army ;  then  made  for  Lee.  Lee  saw 
him  coming  and  braced  himself  for  the  shock.  But  it  was 
a  greater  man  than  Lee  who  could  stand  the  shock  of 
Washington's  temper.  He  was  fearfully  roused.  The 
noble  gravity  of  his  face  had  disappeared.  It  was  con 
vulsed  with  rage. 

"  Sir,"  he  thundered,  "  I  desire  to  know  what  is  the 
reason  of  this  ?  Whence  arises  this  confusion  and  dis 
order  ? " 

"  Sir—  "  stammered  Lee,  "sir—  He  braced  himself, 
and  added  impudently :  "  I  thought  it  best  not  to  beard 
the  enemy  in  such  a  situation.  It  was  contrary  to  my 
opinion  —  " 


i82  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  Your  opinion !  "  And  then  the  Chief  undammed  a 
torrent  of  profanity  Washingtonian  in  its  grandeur. 

He  wheeled  and  galloped  to  the  rallying  of  the  troops. 
At  this  moment  Hamilton  rode  up.  He  had  ridden 
through  the  engagement  without  a  hat.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  he  could  hear  the  bubbling  of  his  brain,  that  the  very 
air  blazed,  and  that  the  end  of  all  things  had  come.  That 
day  of  Monmouth  ever  remained  in  his  memory  as  the 
most  awful  and  hopeless  of  his  life.  An  ordinary  defeat 
was  nothing.  But  the  American  arms  branded  with  cow 
ardice,  Washington  ignobly  deposed,  inefficient  command 
ers  floundering  for  a  few  months  before  the  Americans 
were  become  the  laughing-stock  of  Europe,  —  the  whole 
vision  was  so  hideous,  and  the  day  so  hopeless  in  the  light 
of  those  cowardly  hordes,  that  he  galloped  through  the 
rain  of  British  bullets,  praying  for  death ;  he  had  lost  all 
sense  of  separate  existence  from  the  shattered  American 
cause.  He  did  not  perceive  that  Washington  had  reached 
the  column,  and  resolved  to  make  one  more  appeal  to  Lee, 
he  rode  up  to  that  withered  culprit  and  exclaimed  passion 
ately  :  — 

"  I  will  stay  with  you,  my  dear  General,  and  die  with 
you !  Let  us  all  die  here,  rather  than  retreat !  " 

Lee  made  no  reply.  His  brain  felt  as  if  a  hot  blast 
had  swept  it. 

"At  least  send  a  detachment  to  the  succour  of  the 
artillery,"  said  Hamilton,  with  quick  suspicion.  And  Lee 
ordered  Colonel  Livingston  to  advance. 

At  the  same  moment  some  one  told  Hamilton  that 
Washington  was  in  the  rear,  rallying  the  troops.  He 
spurred  his  horse  and  found  that  the  General  had  rallied 
the  regiments  of  Ramsay  and  Stewart,  after  a  rebuke 
under  which  they  still  trembled,  and  was  ordering  Oswald 
to  hasten  his  cannon  to  the  eminence  which  his  aide 
had  suggested  to  Lee.  Hamilton  himself  was  in  time  to 
intercept  two  retreating  brigades.  He  succeeded  in  rally 
ing  them,  formed  them  along  a  fence  at  hand,  and  ordered 
them  to  charge  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  He  placed 
himself  at  their  head,  and  they  made  a  brilliant  dash  upon 


THE   LITTLE   LION  183 

the  enemy.  But  his  part  was  soon  over.  His  horse  was 
shot  under  him,  and  as  he  struck  the  ground  he  was  over 
come  by  the  shock  and  the  heat,  and  immediately  carried 
from  the  field.  But  the  retreat  was  suspended,  order  re 
stored,  and  although  the  battle  raged  all  day,  the  British 
gained  no  advantage.  The  troops  were  so  demoralized 
by  the  torrid  heat  that  at  sunset  both  Commanders  were 
obliged  to  cease  hostilities ;  and  Washington,  who  had 
been  in  the  saddle  since  daybreak,  threw  himself  under  a 
tree  to  sleep,  confident  of  a  victory  on  the  morrow. 

"  I  had  a  feeling  as  if  my  very  soul  were  exploding," 
said  Hamilton  to  Laurens,  as  they  bathed  their  heads 
in  a  stream  in  the  woods,  with  the  bodies  of  dead  and 
living  huddled  on  every  side  of  them.  "  I  had  a  hideous 
vision  of  Washington  and  the  rest  of  us  in  a  huge  battle 
picture,  in  which  a  redcoat  stood  on  every  squirming  vari 
ety  of  continental  uniform,  while  a  screeching  eagle  flew 
off.  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  But  after  all, 
there  is  something  magnificent  in  so  absolutely  identify 
ing  yourself  with  a  cause  that  you  go  down  to  its  depths 
of  agony  and  fly  to  its  heights  of  exaltation.  I  was  mad  to 
die  when  the  day  —  and  with  it  the  whole  Cause  —  seemed 
lost  Patriotism  surely  is  the  master  passion.  Nothing 
else  can  annihilate  the  ego." 

Laurens,  who  had  performed  prodigies  of  valour,  sighed 
heavily.  "  I  felt  as  you  did  while  the  engagement  lasted," 
he  replied.  "  But  I  went  into  the  battle  with  exultation, 
for  death  this  time  seemed  inevitable.  And  the  only  result 
is  a  headache.  What  humiliation  !  " 

"  You  are  morbid,  my  dear,"  said  Hamilton,  tenderly. 
"  You  cannot  persuade  me  that  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
naught  remains  but  death  —  no  matter  what  mistakes  one 
may  have  made.  There  is  always  the  public  career  —  for 
which  you  are  eminently  fitted.  I  would  begin  life  over 
again  twenty  times  if  necessary." 

"  Yes,  because  you  happen  to  be  a  man  of  genius.  I 
am  merely  a  man  of  parts.  There  are  many  such.  Not 
only  is  my  life  ruined,  but  every  day  I  despair  anew  of 
ever  attaining  that  high  ideal  of  character  I  have  set  for 


184  THE   CONQUEROR 

myself.  I  want  nothing  short  of  perfection,"  he  said  pas 
sionately.  "  Could  I  attain  that,  I  should  be  content  to 
live,  no  matter  how  wretched.  But  I  fall  daily.  My  pas 
sions  control  me,  my  hatreds,  my  impulses  of  the  moment. 
When  a  man's  very  soul  aches  for  a  purity  which  it  is  in 
man  to  attain  if  he  will,  and  when  he  is  daily  reminded 
that  he  is  but  a  whimperer  at  the  feet  of  the  statue,  the 
world  is  no  place  for  him." 

"  Laurens,"  said  Hamilton,  warmly,  "  you  refine  on  the 
refinements  of  sensibility.  You  have  brooded  until  you 
no  longer  are  normal  and  capable  of  logic.  Compare 
your  life  with  that  of  most  men,  and  hope.  You  are  but 
twenty-five,  and  you  have  won  a  deathless  glory,  by  a 
valour  and  brilliancy  on  these  battlefields  that  no  one 
else  has  approached.  Your  brain  and  accomplishments 
are  such  that  the  country  looks  to  you  as  one  of  its  future 
guides.  Your  character  is  that  of  a  Bayard.  It  is  your 
passions  alone,  my  dear,  which  save  you  from  being  a 
prig.  Passion  is  the  furnace  that  makes  greatness  possi 
ble.  If,  when  the  mental  energies  are  resting,  it  darts  out 
tongues  of  flame  that  strike  in  the  wrong  place,  I  do  not 
believe  that  the  Almighty,  who  made  us,  counts  them  as 
sins.  They  are  natural  outlets,  and  we  should  burst  with 
out  them.  If  one  of  those  tongues  of  flame  was  the  cause 
of  your  undoing,  God  knows  you  have  paid  in  kind.  As 
a  rule  no  one  is  the  worse,  while  most  are  better.  A 
certain  degree  of  perfection  we  can  attain,  but  absolute 
perfection — go  into  a  wilderness  like  Mohammed  and  fast. 
There  is  no  other  way,  and  even  then  you  merely  would 
have  visions;  you  would  not  be  yourself." 

Laurens  laughed.  "It  is  not  easy  to  be  morbid  when 
you  are  by.  Acquit  me  for  the  rest  of  the  night.  And  it 
is  time  we  slept.  There  will  be  hot  work  to-morrow.  How 
grandly  the  Chief  rallied  !  There  is  a  man  !  " 

"  He  was  in  a  blazing  temper,"  remarked  Hamilton. 
"  Lee  and  Ramsay  and  Stewart  were  like  to  have  died  of 
fright.  I  wish  to  God  he'd  strung  the  first  to  a  gibbet !  " 

They  sought  out  Washington  and  lay  down  beside  him. 
The  American  army  slept  as  though  its  soul  had  with- 


THE   LITTLE   LION  185 

drawn  to  another  realm  where  repose  is  undisturbed.  Not 
so  the  British  army.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  did  not  share 
Washington's  serene  confidence  in  the  morrow.  He  with 
drew  his  weary  army  in  the  night,  and  was  miles  away 
when  the  dawn  broke. 

Once  Washington  awoke,  raised  himself  on  his  elbow,  and 
listened  intently.  But  he  could  hear  nothing  but  the  deep 
breathing  of  his  weary  army.  The  stars  were  brilliant. 
He  glanced  about  his  immediate  vicinity  with  a  flicker  of 
amusement  and  pleasure  in  his  eyes.  The  young  men 
of  his  household  were  crowded  close  about  him ;  he  had 
nearly  planted  his  elbow  on  Hamilton's  profile.  Laurens, 
Tilghman,  Meade,  even  Lafayette,  were  there,  and  they 
barely  had  left  him  room  to  turn  over.  He  knew  that 
these  worshipping  young  enthusiasts  were  all  ready  and 
eager  to  die  for  him,  and  that  in  spite  of  his  rigid  formality 
they  were  quite  aware  of  his  weak  spot,  and  did  not  hesitate 
to  manifest  their  affection.  For  a  moment  the  loneliest 
man  on  earth  felt  as  warmly  companioned  as  if  he  were 
raising  a  family  of  rollicking  boys ;  then  he  gently  lifted 
Hamilton  out  of  the  way,  and  slept  again.  He  was  bitterly 
disappointed  next  morning ;  but  to  pursue  the  enemy  in 
that  frightful  heat,  over  a  sandy  country  without  water,  and 
with  his  men  but  half  refreshed,  was  out  of  the  question. 

The  rest  of  the  year  was  uneventful,  except  for  the 
court-martialling  of  Lee  and  his  duel  with  Laurens,  who 
challenged  him  for  his  defamation  of  Washington.  Then 
came  the  eventful  winter  of  1779—80,  when  the  army  went 
into  quarters  at  Morristown,  Washington  and  his  military 
family  taking  possession  of  a  large  house  belonging  to  the 
Widow  Ford. 

V 

"  Alexander  !  "  cried  a  musical  but  imperious  voice. 

Hamilton  was  walking  in  the  depths  of  the  wood,  thinking 
out  his  financial  policy  for  the  immediate  relief  of  the  coun 
try.  He  started  and  faced  about.  Kitty  Livingston  sat 
on  her  horse,  a  charming  picture  in  the  icy  brilliance  of  the 


1 86  THE   CONQUEROR 

wood.  He  ran  toward  her,  ripped  off  her  glove,  kissed 
her  hand,  replaced  the  glove,  then  drew  back  and  saluted. 

"  You  are  a  saucy  boy,"  said  Miss  Livingston,  "  and  I've 
a  mind  to  box  your  ears.  I've  brought  you  up  very  badly  ; 
but  upon  my  word,  if  you  were  a  few  years  older,  I  believe 
I'd  marry  you  and  keep  you  in  order,  something  no  other 
woman  will  ever  be  able  to  do.  But  I've  a  piece  of  news 
for  you  —  my  dear  little  brother.  Betsey  Schuyler  is  here." 

Alexander,  much  to  his  annoyance,  blushed  vividly. 
"  And  how  can  you  know  that  I  have  ever  even  seen  Miss 
Schuyler  ?  "  he  asked,  rather  sulkily. 

"  She  told  me  all  about  it,  my  dear.  And  I  inferred 
from  the  young  lady's  manner  that  she  lived  but  to  renew 
the  experience.  She  is  down  at  Surgeon-General  Coch- 
raine's.  Mrs.  Cochraine  is  her  aunt.  Seriously,  I  want 
you  to  be  a  good  little  beau,  and  keep  her  here  as  long  as 
possible.  She  is  a  great  addition  to  our  society ;  for  she  is 
not  only  one  of  the  belles  of  the  country,  accomplished  and 
experienced,  but  she  has  an  amazing  fine  character,  and  I 
am  anxious  to  know  her  better.  You  are  still  too  young  to 
marry,  mon  enfant,  but  you  are  so  precocious  and  Miss 
Schuyler  is  so  charming  —  if  you  will  marry  at  your  absurd 
age,  you  could  not  do  better ;  for  you'll  get  fine  parents  as 
well  as  a  wife,  and  I've  never  known  a  youth  more  in  need 
of  an  entire  family." 

Hamilton  laughed.  "  If  I  accumulate  any  more  parents," 
he  said,  "  I  shall  share  the  fate  of  the  cat.  This  morning 
Colonel  Harrison  —  one  of  my  fathers  —  almost  undressed 
me  to  see  if  my  flannels  were  thick  enough,  Mrs.  Washing 
ton  gave  me  a  fearful  scolding  because  I  went  out  without 
a  muffler,  and  even  the  General  is  always  darting  edged 
glances  at  the  soles  of  my  boots.  Yesterday,  Laurens,  who 
is  two-thirds  English,  tried  to  force  an  umbrella  into  my 
hand,  but  at  that  I  rebelled.  If  I  marry,  it  will  be  for  the 
pleasure  of  taking  care  of  someone  else." 

He  escorted  Miss  Livingston  out  to  the  highroad,  and 
returned  to  Headquarters,  his  imagination  dancing.  He 
had  by  no  means  forgotten  Miss  Schuyler.  That  merry 
roguish  high-bred  face  had  shone  above  many  dark  horizons, 


THE   LITTLE   LION  187 

illuminated  many  bitter  winter  nights  at  Valley  Forge.  He 
was  excited  at  the  prospect  of  seeing  her  again,  and 
hastened  to  arrange  a  dinner,  to  which  she  must  be  bidden. 
The  young  men  did  as  they  chose  about  entertaining,  sure 
of  Washington's  approval. 

"  Ah,  I  know  Miss  Schuyler  well,"  exclaimed  Tilghman, 
when  Hamilton  remarked  that  they  should  immediately 
show  some  attention  to  the  daughter  of  so  illustrious  a  man 
as  General  Schuyler.  "  I've  fetched  and  carried  for  her 
—  in  fact  I  once  had  the  honour  to  be  despatched  by  her 
mamma  to  buy  her  a  pair  of  stays.  I  fell  at  her  little  feet 
immediately.  She  has  the  most  lively  dark  good-natured 
eyes  I  ever  saw  —  Good  God,  Hamilton,  are  you  going  to 
run  me  through  ?  " 

Hamilton  for  the  moment  was  so  convulsed  with  jealous 
rage  that  his  very  fingers  curved,  and  he  controlled  them 
from  his  friend's  throat  with  an  effort.  Tilghman's  words 
brought  him  to  his  senses,  and  he  laughed  heartily.  "  I  was 
as  jealous  as  Othello,  if  you'll  have  the  truth,  and  just 
why,  I  vow  I  don't  know,  for  I  met  this  young  lady  only 
once,  and  that  a  year  ago.  I  was  much  attracted,  but  it's 
not  possible  I'm  in  love  with  her." 

"  It's  love,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Tilghman,  gravely.  "  Go 
and  ask  Steuben  if  I  am  not  right.  Laurens  and  I  will 
arrange  the  dinner.  You  attend  to  your  case  immediately." 

Hamilton,  much  concerned,  repaired  to  the  house  of 
Baron  Steuben.  This  old  courtier  and  rake  was  physician 
in  ordinary  to  all  the  young  men  in  their  numerous  cardiacal 
complications.  Hamilton  found  him  in  his  little  study, 
smoking  a  huge  meerschaum.  His  weather-beaten  face 
grinned  with  delight  at  the  appearance  of  his  favourite,  but 
he  shook  his  head  solemnly  at  the  revelation. 

"  I  fear  this  time  you  are  shot,  my  dear  little  Hamilton," 
he  said,  with  much  concern.  "  Have  you  told  me  all? " 

"All  that  I  can  think  of."  Hamilton  was  sitting  for 
ward  on  the  edge  of  the  chair  in  considerable  dejection. 
He  had  not  expected  this  intrication,  had  hoped  the  Baron 
would  puff  it  away. 

"  Has  she  a  neat  waist ?  " 


1 88  THE   CONQUEROR 

Hamilton  admitted,  with  some  surprise,  that  her  waist 
was  exceptional. 

"  And  her  eyes  ? —  I  have  heard  of  them  —  benevolent, 
yet  sparkling;  — and  a  daughter  of  the  Schuylers.  Ham 
ilton,  believe  me,  there  are  worse  things  than  love." 

"  But  I  have  affairs  of  the  utmost  moment  on  hand  at 
present.  I'm  revolving  a  whole  financial  system,  and  the 
correspondence  grows  heavier  everyday.  I've  no  time  for 
love." 

"  My  boy,"  said  the  former  aide  to  the  great  Frederick, 
with  emphasis,  "  when  you  can  work  in  the  sun,  why 
cling  to  the  cold  corner  of  a  public  hearth  ?  Your  brain 
will  spin  the  faster  for  the  fire  underneath.  You  will  write 
great  words  and  be  happy  besides.  Think  of  that.  What 
a  combination !  Mein  Gott !  You  will  be  terribly  in  love, 
my  son,  but  your  balance  is  so  extraordinary  that  your 
brain  will  work  on  just  the  same.  Otherwise  I  would  not 
dare  give  such  counsel,  for  without  you  General  Washington 
would  give  up,  and  your  poor  old  Steuben  would  not  have 
money  for  tobacco.  Give  me  just  one  half-sovereign,"  he 
added  coaxingly. 

Hamilton  examined  the  big  tobacco  pouch  and  found  it 
two-thirds  full.  "  Not  a  penny,"  he  said  gaily.  "  The  day 
after  to-morrow  I  will  buy  you  some  myself,  but  I  know 
where  that  last  sovereign  went  to." 

Hamilton  took  care  of  the  old  spendthrift's  money,  and 
not  only  then  but  as  long  as  he  lived.  "  The  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  is  my  banker,"  said  Steuben,  years  after. 
"  My  Hamilton  takes  care  of  my  money  when  he  cannot 
take  care  of  his  own." 

Hamilton  retired  in  some  perturbation,  and  the  result  of 
much  thinking  was  that  he  spent  an  unconscionable  time 
over  his  toilet  on  the  evening  of  the  dinner.  In  his  ner 
vousness  he  tore  one  of  his  lace  ruffles.  Laurens 
attempted  to  mend  it,  and  the  rent  waxed.  Hamilton  was 
forced  to  knock  at  Mrs.  Washington's  door  and  ask  her 
to  repair  the  injury.  She  was  already  dressed,  in  a  black 
lutestring,  her  hair  flat  and  natural.  She  looked  approvingly 
at  Hamilton,  who,  not  excepting  Laurens,  was  always  the 


THE   LITTLE   LION  189 

most  faultlessly  dressed  member  of  the  family.  To-night 
he  wore  dark  green  velvet,  fitting  closely  and  exquisitely 
cut,  white  silk  stockings,  and  a  profusion  of  delicate  lace. 
His  hair  was  worn  in  a  queue  and  powdered.  It  was  not 
till  some  years  later  that  he  conformed  to  the  prevailing 
fashion  and  wore  a  wig. 

Mrs.  Washington  mended  the  lace,  retied  the  bow  of  his 
queue,  kissed  him  and  told  him  to  forget  the  cares  of  war 
and  correspondence,  and  enjoy  himself.  Hamilton  retired, 
much  comforted. 

It  was  an  imposing  family  which,  a  half-hour  later, 
awaited  the  guests  in  the  drawing-room.  Washington  was 
in  black  velvet  and  silk  stockings,  his  best  white  wig 
spreading  in  two  symmetrical  wings.  It  was  a  cold  grave 
figure  always,  and  threw  an  air  of  solemnity  over  every 
scene  it  loomed  upon,  which  only  Hamilton's  lively  wit  could 
dispel.  Laurens  wore  plum-coloured  velvet  and  much  lace, 
a  magnificent  court  costume.  His  own  figure  was  no  less 
majestic  than  Washington's,  but  his  brown  eyes  and  full 
mouth  were  almost  invariably  smiling,  despite  the  canker. 
He  wore  a  very  close  wig.  Tilghman  was  in  blue,  the  other 
men  in  more  sober  dress.  Lafayette  some  time  since  had 
departed  for  France,  Hamilton  having  suggested  that  the 
introduction  of  a  French  military  force  of  six  or  seven 
thousand  troops  would  have  a  powerful  effect  upon  the 
American  army  and  people. 

Lady  Sterling  arrived  with  Lady  Kitty  —  the  bride  of 
Colonel  William  Duer  since  July — her  undistinguished 
homeliness  enhancing  the  smart  appearance  of  her  daugh 
ter,  who  was  one  of  the  beauties  of  the  time.  Lady  Kitty 
had  a  long  oval  face,  correct  haughty  little  features,  and 
a  general  air  of  extreme  high  breeding.  Her  powdered 
hair  was  in  a  tower,  and  she  had  the  tiniest  waist  and  stood 
upon  the  highest  heels  of  all  the  belles.  She  wore  white 
satin  over  an  immense  hoop,  a  flounce  of  Spanish  lace  and 
a  rope  of  pearls.  Kitty  Livingston  wore  yellow  which 
outshone  the  light  of  the  candles.  Susan  Boudinot  and 
the  other  girls  were  dressed  more  simply.  Mr.  Bou- 
dinot's  eyes  were  as  keen  and  as  kind  as  ever,  his  nose 


1 9o  THE    CONQUEROR 

seemed  longer,  and  the  flesh  was  accumulating  beneath 
his  chin. 

The  Cochraines  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Schuyler  were  the 
last  to  arrive.  The  northern  belle's  wardrobe  had  been 
an  object  of  much  concern  to  the  young  ladies  now  cut 
off  from  New  York  shops,  and  lamenting  the  demoralized 
condition  of  those  in  Philadelphia.  In  Albany  all  things 
were  still  possible.  Miss  Schuyler  wore  a  pink  brocade 
of  the  richest  and  most  delicate  quality,  and  a  bertha  of 
Brussels  lace.  The  pointed  bodice  and  large  paniers  made 
her  waist  look  almost  as  small  as  Kitty  Duer's,  and  her 
feet  were  the  tiniest  in  the  world.  She  turned  them  in 
and  walked  with  a  slight  shuffle.  Hamilton  had  never  seen 
a  motion  so  adorable.  Her  hair  was  rolled  out  from  her 
face  on  both  sides  as  well  as  above,  and  so  thickly  powdered 
that  her  eyes  looked  as  black  as  General  Washington's 
coat,  while  her  cheeks  and  lips  were  like  red  wine  on  pale 
amber.  She  blushed  as  Hamilton  bowed  before  her  and 
offered  his  arm,  and  then  she  felt  his  heart  thump.  As 
for  Hamilton,  he  gave  himself  up  for  lost  the  moment  she 
entered  the  room,  and  with  the  admission,  his  feelings  con 
centrated  with  their  usual  fiery  impetuosity.  As  it  was 
too  soon  for  an  outlet,  they  rushed  to  his  eyes  and  camped 
there,  to  Miss  Schuyler's  combined  discomfort  and  delight. 

For  once  Hamilton  was  content  to  listen,  and  Miss 
Schuyler  was  not  loath  to  entertain  this  handsome  young 
aide,  of  whom  all  the  world  was  talking,  and  who  had 
haunted  her  dreams  for  a  year.  She  had  read  Milton, 
Shenstone,  and  Dodsworth,  "  The  Search  after  Happiness," 
by  Hannah  More,  the  works  of  Madame  de  Genlis,  the 
"  Essay  on  Man,"  and  Shakespeare's  lighter  plays.  Her 
learning  was  not  oppressive,  merely  sufficient  to  give  dis 
tinction  to  her  mind,  and  Hamilton  was  enchanted  once 
more ;  but  he  found  her  most  interesting  when  relating 
personal  anecdotes  of  encounters  with  savage  warriors  in 
that  dark  northern  land  where  she  had  been  born  and  bred, 
of  hideous  massacres  of  which  her  neighbours  had  been 
the  victims,  of  adventurous  journeys  she  had  taken  with 
her  father,  of  painted  chieftains  they  had  been  forced  to 


THE   LITTLE   LION  191 

entertain.  She  talked  with  great  spirit  and  no  waste  of 
words,  and  it  was  evident  that  she  was  both  sensible  and 
heroic.  Hamilton  ate  little  and  forgot  that  he  was  in  a 
company  of  twenty  people.  He  was  recalled  by  an  abraded 
shin. 

He  turned  with  a  jump  and  encountered  Meade's  agon 
ized  face  thrust  across  Susan  Livingston,  who  sat  between 
them. 

"  For  God's  sake,  Hamilton,  come  forth  and  talk,"  said 
Meade,  in  a  hoarse  whisper.  "  There  hasn't  been  a  word 
said  above  a  mutter  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  Tilghman 
gave  out  long  ago.  Unless  you  come  to  the  rescue  we'll 
all  be  moaning  in  each  other's  arms  in  three  minutes." 

Hamilton  glanced  about  the  table.  Washington,  looking 
like  himself  on  a  monument,  was  making  not  a  pretence 
to  entertain  poor  Lady  Sterling,  who  was  almost  sniffling. 
Lord  Sterling,  having  gratified,  an  hour  since,  Mrs.  Wash 
ington's  polite  interest  in  his  health,  was  stifling  yawn 
after  yawn,  and  his  chubby  little  visage  was  oblong  and 
crimson.  Tilghman,  looking  guilty  and  uncomfortable, 
—  it  was  his  duty  to  relieve  Hamilton  at  the  table, — 
was  flirting  with  Miss  Boudinot.  Lady  Kitty  and  Baron 
Steuben  always  managed  to  entertain  each  other.  Lau- 
rens  and  Kitty  Livingston  were  sitting  back  and  staring 
at  each  other  as  they  had  stared  many  times  before.  The 
others  were  gazing  at  their  plates  or  at  Hamilton.  It 
was,  indeed,  a  Headquarters  dinner  at  the  worst. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  Hamilton  had  a  strong  sense 
of  duty.  He  felt  himself  unable,  even  with  the  most 
charming  girl  on  the  continent  beside  him,  to  resist  the 
appeal  of  all  those  miserable  eyes,  and  launched  forth 
at  once  upon  the  possibilities  of  Lafayette  returning 
with  an  army.  Everybody  responded,  and  he  had  many 
subjects  of  common  interest  to  discourse  brilliantly  upon 
until  the  long  meal  finished.  Even  Washington  gave 
him  a  grateful  glance,  and  the  others  reattacked  their 
excellent  food  with  a  lost  relish,  now  that  the  awful 
silence  and  sense  of  personal  failure  were  dispelled  by 
their  "bright  particular  star,"  as  the  letters  of  the  day 


i92  THE   CONQUEROR 

from  Morristown  and  the  vicinity  cleped  our  hero.  But 
with  Miss  Schuyler  he  had  no  further  word  that  night, 
and  he  retired  with  the  conviction  that  there  were  times 
when  there  was  no  satisfaction  whatever  in  doing  one's 
duty. 

VI 

But  a  few  nights  later  there  was  a  subscription  ball  in 
the  commissary  storehouse,  and  Hamilton  danced  with 
Miss  Schuyler  no  less  than  ten  times,  to  the  merciless 
amusement  of  the  family.  The  ball,  the  first  of  any 
size  since  the  war  began,  was  a  fine  affair,  and  had  been 
organized  by  Tilghman,  Meade,  and  several  of  the  French 
men  ;  they  were  determined  upon  one  gay  season,  at 
least.  The  walls  were  covered  with  flags  and  holly ;  the 
women  wore  their  most  gorgeous  brocades ;  feathers  and 
jewels  were  on  becoming  white  wigs  or  on  the  towers 
of  powdered  hair.  All  the  foreigners  were  in  full  regi 
mentals,  Steuben,  in  particular,  being  half  covered  with  gold 
lace  and  orders ;  the  music  and  supper  were  admirable. 
Even  Washington  looked  less  careworn  than  usual,  and 
as  he  stood  apart  with  Lord  Sterling,  General  Knox,  and 
General  Greene,  he  shed  no  perceptible  chill.  Miss  Schuyler 
wore  white,  with  a  twist  of  black  velvet  in  her  powdered 
hair  and  another  about  her  throat,  and  would  have  been 
the  belle  of  the  party  had  Hamilton  permitted  other  atten 
tions.  But  she  gave  him  all  the  dances  he  demanded,  and 
although  her  bright  manner  did  not  lapse  toward  senti 
ment  for  a  moment,  he  went  home  so  elated  that  he  sat 
scribbling  poetry  until  Laurens  pelted  him  with  pillows 
and  extinguished  the  candle. 

The  next  day  there  was  a  sleighing  party  to  Lord  Ster 
ling's,  and  he  drove  Miss  Schuyler,  her  aunt,  and  the  wife 
of  General  Knox  through  the  white  and  crystal  and  blue 
of  a  magnificent  winter  day.  Mrs.  Cochraine  made  no 
secret  of  her  pride  in  her  niece's  capture  of  Washington's 
celebrated  favourite,  and  assured  him  of  a  hearty  welcome 
at  her  house  if  he  felt  disposed  to  call.  He  promptly  estab 
lished  the  habit  of  calling  every  evening. 


THE   LITTLE   LION  193 

But  although  he  was  seriously  and  passionately  in  love, 
and  quite  sure  that  Miss  Schuyler  loved  him  in  return,  he 
hesitated  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  before  precipitating 
a  desired  consummation.  That  he  had  no  money  did  not 
worry  him  in  the  least,  for  he  knew  himself  capable  of 
earning  any  amount,  and  that  the  Republic,  when  free, 
would  bristle  with  opportunities  for  young  men  of  parts. 
But  he  was  in  honour  bound  to  tell  her  of  the  irregularity 
of  his  birth.  And  in  what  manner  would  she  regard  a 
possible  husband  with  whose  children  she  never  could 
discuss  their  father's  parents  ?  She  was  twenty-two,  a 
small  woman-of-the-world,  not  a  romantic  young  miss  in 
capable  of  reason.  And  the  Schuylers  ?  The  proudest 
family  in  America !  Would  they  take  him  on  what  he  had 
made  of  himself,  on  the  promise  of  his  future,  or  would 
their  family  pride  prove  stronger  than  their  common  sense? 
He  had  moments  of  frantic  doubt  and  depression,  but  for 
tunately  there  was  no  time  for  protracted  periods  of  lover's 
misery.  Washington  demanded  him  constantly  for  con 
sultation  upon  the  best  possible  method  of  putting  anima 
tion  into  the  Congress  and  extracting  money  for  the 
,  wretched  troops.  He  frequently  accompanied  the  General, 
as  at  Valley  Forge,  in  his  visits  to  the  encampment  on  the 
mountain,  where  the  emaciated  tattered  wretches  were 
hutting  with  all  possible  speed  against  the  severity  of 
another  winter.  The  snow  was  already  on  the  ground,  and 
every  prospect  of  a  repetition  of  the  horrors  of  Valley 
Forge.  The  mere  sight  of  Washington  put  heart  into 
them,  and  Hamilton's  lively  sallies  rarely  failed  to  elicit 
a  smile  in  return. 

It  so  happened  that  for  a  fortnight  the  correspondence 
with  Congress,  the  States,  the  Generals,  and  the  British, 
in  regard  to  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  was  so  heavy,  the 
consultations  with  Washington  so  frequent,  that  Hamilton 
saw  nothing  of  Miss  Schuyler,  and  had  little  time  for  the 
indulgence  of  pangs.  When  he  emerged,  however,  his 
mind  was  the  freer  to  seek  a  solution  of  the  problem  which 
had  tormented  him,  and  he  quickly  found  it.  He  determined 
to  write  the  truth  to  Miss  Schuyler,  and  so  save  the  em- 


i94  THE   CONQUEROR 

barrassment  he  had  dreaded  for  both.  To  think  was  to 
act.  He  related  the  facts  of  his  birth  and  of  his  ancestry 
in  the  briefest  possible  manner,  adding  a  description  of  his 
mother  which  would  leave  no  question  of  the  place  she 
held  in  his  esteem.  He  then  stated,  with  the  emphasis  of 
which  he  was  master,  that  he  distractedly  awaited  his  dis 
missal,  or  Miss  Schuyler's  permission  to  declare  what  he 
had  so  awkwardly  concealed. 

He  sent  the  letter  by  an  orderly,  and  attacked  his  corre 
spondence  with  a  desire  to  put  gunpowder  on  his  quill. 
But  Miss  Schuyler  was  a  tender-hearted  creature  and  had 
no  intention  that  he  should  suffer.  She  scrawled  him  a 
hasty  summons  to  come  to  her  at  once,  and  bade  the 
orderly  ride  as  for  his  life.  Hamilton,  hearing  a  horse 
coming  up  the  turnpike  at  runaway  pace,  glanced  out  of 
the  window  to  see  what  neck  was  in  danger,  then  flung  his 
quill  to  the  floor  and  bolted.  He  was  out  of  the  house 
before  the  orderly  had  dismounted,  and  secured  possession 
of  the  note.  When  he  had  returned  to  his  office,  which 
was  in  a  log  extension  at  the  back  of  the  building,  he 
locked  the  door  and  read  what  he  could  of  Miss  Schuyler's. 
illegible  chirography.  That  it  was  a  command  to  wait 
upon  her  at  once  he  managed  to  decipher,  but  no  more 
at  the  moment ;  and  feeling  as  if  the  heavens  had  opened, 
he  despatched  a  hasty  note,  telling  her  that  he  could  not 
leave  his  work  before  night,  when  he  would  hasten  with 
the  pent-up  assurances  of  a  love  which  had  been  his  tor 
ment  and  delight  for  many  weeks.  And  then  he  answered 
a  summons  to  Washington's  office,  and  discussed  a  letter  to 
the  Congress  as  if  there  were  no  such  person  in  the  world 
as  Elizabeth  Schuyler,  as  indeed  for  the  hour  there  was 
not,  nor  for  the  rest  of  the  afternoon. 

But  at  eight  o'clock  he  presented  himself  at  the  Coch- 
raine  quarters,  and  Miss  Schuyler  was  alone  in  the  drawing- 
room.  It  was  some  time  before  they  arrived  at  the  question 
which  had  weighed  so  heavily  on  Hamilton's  mind.  When, 
however,  they  came  down  to  conversation,  Miss  Schuyler 
remarked :  — 

"  I  am  sure  that  it  will  make  no  difference  with  my  dear 


THE   LITTLE   LION  195 

father,  who  is  the  most  just  and  sensible  of  men.  I  had 
never  thought  of  your  parentage  at  all.  I  should  have 
said  you  had  leapt  down  from  the  abode  of  the  gods,  for 
you  are  much  too  remarkable  to  have  been  merely  born. 
But  if  he  should  object  —  why,  we'll  run  away." 

Her  eyes  danced  at  the  prospect,  and  Hamilton,  who 
had  vowed  that  nothing  should  induce  him  to  enter  a  family 
where  he  was  not  welcome,  was  by  now  so  hopelessly  in 
love  that  he  was  ready  to  order  the  chaise  and  four  at  once. 
He  remained  until  Mrs.  Cochraine  sent  him  home,  then 
walked  up  the  hill  toward  Headquarters,  keeping  to  the 
road  by  instinct,  for  he  was  deep  in  a  reverie  on  the  happi 
ness  of  the  past  hours.  His  dreams  were  cruelly  shattered 
by  the  pressure  of  a  bayonet  against  his  breast. 

"What?"  he  demanded.  "Oh,  the  countersign."  He 
racked  his  memory.  It  had  fled,  terrified,  from  his  brain 
under  the  rush  of  that  evening's  emotions. 

"I  can't  remember  it,"  he  said  haughtily;  "but  you 
know  who  I  am.  Let  me  pass."  The  sentry  stood  like  a 
fate. 

"  This  is  ridiculous !  "  cried  Hamilton,  angrily,  then  the 
absurdity  of  the  situation  overcame  him,  and  he  laughed. 
Once  more  he  searched  his  brain  for  the  countersign,  which 
he  remembered  having  given  to  little  Ford  just  after  dinner. 
Mrs.  Ford  and  her  son  retained  two  rooms  in  the  house, 
and  Hamilton  frequently  gave  the  youngster  the  word, 
that  he  might  play  in  the  village  after  dark.  Suddenly  he 
saw  him  approaching.  He  darted  down  the  road,  secured 
the  password,  and  returned  in  triumph  to  the  sentry. 

"Sir,"  exclaimed  the  soldier,  in  dismay,  "is  this  quite 
regular  ?  Will  you  give  me  your  word,  sir,  that  it  is  all 
right?" 

"  I  vow  that  no  harm  shall  come  to  you,"  said  Hamilton. 
"  Shoulder  your  musket."  And  there  the  incident  ended, 
so  far  as  the  soldier  was  concerned,  but  young  Ford  carried 
the  story  to  Headquarters,  and  it  was  long  before  Hamilton 
heard  the  last  of  it. 

There  was  no  sleep  in  him  that  night.  He  went  to  his 
office  and  laboured  for  hours  over  a  verse  which  should 


196  THE   CONQUEROR 

adequately  express  the  love  consuming  him,  and  then  he 
awoke  Laurens  and  talked  into  that  sympathetic  ear  until 
it  was  time  to  break  the  ice  and  freshen  himself  for  work. 
His  work  that  day  was  of  a  vastly  different  character 
from  the  impassioned  trifle  of  the  night  before.  He  ob 
tained  exemption  from  other  duty,  and  ordered  lunch 
eon  and  dinner  brought  to  his  office.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  examples  of  Hamilton's  mature  genius  at  this 
age  of  twenty-three  is  his  long  and  elaborate  letter  to 
Robert  Morris  on  the  financial  condition  of  the  country, 
written  during  the  earliest  period  of  his  love  for  Elizabeth 
Schuyler.  As  passionate  and  impatient  as  he  was  tender, 
alive  in  every  part  of  his  nature  to  the  joy  of  a  real  affec 
tion  and  to  the  prospect  of  a  lasting  happiness,  he  yet  was 
able  for  twelve  hours  at  a  time  to  shut  his  impending  bride 
in  the  remotest  cupboard  of  his  mind,  nor  heed  her  sighs. 
But  there  was  an  older  love  than  Elizabeth  Schuyler  :  a 
ragged  poverty-stricken  creature  by  this,  cowering  before 
dangers  within  and  without,  raving  mad  at  times,  imbecile 
at  others,  filling  her  shattered  body  with  patent  nostrums, 
yet  throughout  her  long  course  of  futilities  and  absurdities 
making  a  desperate  attempt  to  shade  the  battered  lamp  of 
liberty  from  the  fatal  draught.  Her  name  was  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  never  was  there  a  more  satiric 
misnomer.  If  the  States  chose  to  obey  the  requisitions  of 
the  Congress,  they  obeyed  them ;  but  as  a  rule  they  did 
not.  There  was  no  power  in  the  land  to  enforce  obedi 
ence  ;  and  they  hated  each  other.  As  the  Congress  had 
demonstrated  its  inefficiency  to  the  most  inactive  in  public 
affairs,  the  contempt  of  the  States  is  hardly  to  be  wondered 
at.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  troops  were  recruited 
by  Washington's  influence  alone,  and  kept  from  mutiny  by 
his  immortal  magnetism.  The  finances  of  the  Revolution 
were  in  such  a  desperate  condition  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
built  his  hopes  of  success  —  now  he  had  discovered  that  no 
victory  gave  him  a  permanent  advantage  —  upon  the  dis 
solution  of  the  American  army,  possibly  an  internal  war. 
With  depreciated  bills  in  circulation  amounting  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  dollars,  a  public  debt  of 


THE   LITTLE   LION  197 

nearly  forty  millions  in  foreign  and  domestic  loans,  the 
Congress  had,  in  March,  ordered  a  new  emission  of  bills; 
the  result  had  been  a  season  of  crazy  speculation  and  the 
expiring  gasp  of  public  credit.  In  addition  to  an  unpaid 
army,  assurances  had  been  given  to  the  French  minister 
that  not  less  than  twenty-five  thousand  men  should  be 
ready  for  the  next  campaign  ;  and  how  to  force  the  States 
to  recruit  them,  and  how  to  pay  them  when  in  the  field,  was 
the  present  question  between  Headquarters  and  Congress. 

From  the  time  that  Hamilton's  mind  had  turned  to 
finance,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  he  had  devoted  the  greater 
part  of  his  leisure  to  the  study  and  thought  of  it.  Books 
on  the  subject  were  few  in  those  days  ;  the  science  of  politi 
cal  economy  was  unborn,  so  far  as  Hamilton  was  concerned, 
for  Adam  Smith's  "Wealth  of  Nations,"  published  in  1776, 
had  not  made  its  way  to  America.  He  assimilated  all  the 
data  there  was  to  be  found,  then  poured  it  into  the  crucible 
of  his  creative  faculty,  and  gradually  evolved  the  great 
scheme  of  finance  which  is  the  locomotive  of  the  United 
States  to-day.  During  many  long  winter  evenings  he  had 
talked  his  ideas  over  with  Washington,  and  it  was  with 
the  Chief's  full  approval  that  he  finally  went  to  work  on 
the  letter  embodying  his  scheme  for  the  immediate  relief 
of  the  country.  It  was  addressed  to  Robert  Morris,  the 
Financier  of  the  Revolution. 

The  first  part  of  the  letter  was  an  essay  on  inflated  and 
depreciated  currency,  applied  personally,  the  argument 
based  on  the  three  following  points :  There  having  been 
no  money  in  the  country,  Congress  had  been  unable  to 
avoid  the  issuance  of  paper  money.  The  only  way  to 
obtain  and  retire  this  immense  amount  of  depreciated 
paper  money  was  to  obtain  real  money.  Real  money 
could  be  obtained  in  one  way  only,  —  by  a  foreign  loan. 
He  then  elaborately  disposed  of  the  proposed  insane 
methods  of  applying  this  projected  loan  which  were  agitat 
ing  the  Congress.  But  he  was  an  architect  and  builder  as 
well  as  an  iconoclast,  and  having  shown  the  futility  of  every 
financial  idea  ever  conceived  by  Congress,  he  proceeded  to 
the  remedy.  His  scheme,  then  as  ever,  was  a  National 


198  THE   CONQUEROR 

Bank,  to  be  called  The  Bank  of  the  United  States;  the 
capital  to  be  a  foreign  loan  of  two  millions  sterling. 

This  letter,  even  in  its  details,  in  the  knowledge  of 
human  nature  it  betrays,  and  in  its  scheme  to  combine 
public  and  private  capital  that  the  wealthy  men  of  the  coun 
try  should,  in  their  own  interests,  be  compelled  to  support 
the  government,  reads  like  an  easy  example  in  arithmetic 
to-day ;  but  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago  it  was  so  bold 
and  advanced  that  Morris  dared  to  adopt  several  of  its 
suggestions  in  part  only,  and  founded  the  bank  of  Penn 
sylvania  on  the  greater  plan,  by  way  of  experiment.  No 
one  but  Hamilton  could  carry  out  his  own  theories. 

Hamilton,  who  often  had  odd  little  attacks  of  modesty, 
signed  the  letter,  James  Montague ;  address,  Morristown. 
He  read  it  to  Washington  Before  posting. 

The  Chief,  whose  men  were  aching,  sighed  heavily. 

"  They  will  pick  a  few  crumbs  out  of  it,"  he  said.  "  But 
they  will  not  make  a  law  of  it  in  toto;  the  millennium  is 
not  yet  come.  But  if  it  gives  them  one  idea  we  should  be 
thankful,  it  being  a  long  and  weary  time  since  they  have 
experienced  that  phenomenon.  If  it  does  not,  I  doubt  if 
these  men  fight  another  battle.  I  wonder  if  posterity  will 
ever  realize  the  indifference  of  their  three  million  ancestors 
to  the  war  which  gave  them  their  independence — if  we 
accomplish  that  end.  I  ask  for  soldiers  and  am  treated 
much  as  if  I  had  asked  for  my  neighbour's  wife.  I  ask 
for  money  to  keep  them  from  starving  and  freezing  and 
am  made  to  feel  like  an  importunate  beggar." 

''  I  had  a  letter  from  Hugh  Knox  not  so  long  since," 
said  Hamilton,  in  his  lightest  tone ;  for  Washington  was 
on  the  verge  of  one  of  his  attacks  of  infuriated  depression, 
which  were  picturesque  but  wearing.  "  He  undertakes  to 
play  the  prophet,  and  he  is  an  uncommon  clever  man,  sir  :  he 
says  that  you  were  created  for  the  express  purpose  of 
delivering  America,  to  do  it  single-handed,  if  necessary,  and 
that  my  proud  destiny  is  to  be  your  biographer.  The  first 
I  indorse,  so  does  every  thinking  man  in  the  country. 
But  for  the  second  —  alas  !  I  am  not  equal  to  a  post  of 
such  exalted  honour." 


THE   LITTLE   LION  i9c> 

Washington  smiled.  "  No  one  knows  better  than  your 
old  Chief  that  your  destiny  is  no  such  ha'penny  affair  as 
that.  But  at  least  you  wouldn't  make  an  ass  of  me.  God 
knows  what  is  in  store  for  me  at  the  hands  of  scribblers." 

"  You  lend  yourself  fatally  well  to  marble  and  stone, 
sir,"  said  Hamilton,  mischievously.  "  I  fear  your  biog 
raphers  will  conceive  themselves  writing  at  the  feet  of  a 
New  World  Sphinx,  and  that  its  frozen  granite  loneliness 
will  petrify  their  image  of  you." 

"  I  like  the  prospect !  I  am  unhappily  conscious  of  my 
power  to  chill  an  assemblage,  but  the  cold  formality  of  my 
manner  is  a  safeguard,  as  you  know.  My  nature  is  one  of 
extremes  ;  if  I  did  not  encase  myself,  I  should  be  ramming 
every  man's  absurd  opinions  down  his  throat,  and  letting 
my  cursed  temper  fly  at  each  of  the  provocations  which 
constantly  beset  me.  I  have  not  the  happy  gift  of  com 
promise  ;  but  I  am  not  unhuman,  and  I  like  not  the  prospect 
of  going  down  to  posterity  a  wooden  figurehead  upon  some 
emblematic  battle-ship.  Perhaps,  my  boy,  you,  who  best 
know  me,  will  be  moved  by  charity  to  be  my  biographer, 
after  all." 

"  I'll  make  it  the  business  of  my  old  age,  sir;  I  pledge 
you  my  word,  and  no  one  loves  you  better  nor  can  do  you 
such  justice  as  I.  When  my  work  in  the  National  Family  is 
done,  then  shall  I  retire  with  my  literary  love,  an  old  and 
pleasant  love ;  and  what  higher  subject  for  my  pen  ?  " 

He  spoke  in  a  tone  of  badinage,  for  he  was  bent  on 
screwing  up  Washington's  spirits,  but  he  made  his  prom 
ise  in  good  faith,  nevertheless,  and  Washington  looked  at 
him  with  deep  affection. 

"  My  mind  is  certainly  easier,"  he  said,  in  a  tone  that 
was  almost  light.  "  Go  now  and  post  your  letter,  and  give 
your  evening  to  Miss  Schuyler.  Present  my  compliments 
to  her." 

"  I  became  engaged  to  her  last  night,  sir." 

"  Ah  !  had  you  forgotten  to  tell  me  ?  " 

"  No,  sir  ;  I  have  but  just  remembered  it." 

Washington  laughed  heartily.  "  Mind  you  never  tell 
her  that,"  he  said.  "  Women  love  the  lie  that  saves  their 


200  THE   CONQUEROR 

pride,  but  never  an  unflattering  truth.  You  have  learned 
your  lesson  young,  —  to  put  a  tempting  face  aside  when 
duty  demands  every  faculty ;  it  is  a  lesson  which  takes 
most  men  longest  to  learn.  I  could  tell  you  some  amus 
ing  stories  of  rough  and  tumbles  in  my  mind  between 
the  divine  image  of  the  hour  and  some  affair  of  highest 
moment.  But  to  a  brain  like  yours  all  things  are  possible." 

He  rose,  and  took  Hamilton's  hand  and  shook  it  warmly. 

"  God  bless  you,"  he  said.  "  Your  future  unrolls  to  my 
vision,  brilliant  and  happy.  I  deeply  wish  that  it  may 
be  so." 

VII 

The  letter  from  General  Schuyler,  giving  his  consent  to 
the  engagement,  has  not  been  preserved;  but  some  time 
after  he  had  occasion  to  write  Hamilton  a  business  letter, 
in  which  the  following  passage  occurs  :  — 

You  cannot,  my  dear  sir,  be  more  happy  at  the  connexion  you  have 
made  with  my  family  than  I  am.  Until  the  child  of  a  parent  has  made 
a  judicious  choice,  his  heart  is  in  continual  anxiety ;  but  this  anxiety 
was  removed  on  the  moment  I  discovered  it  was  on  you  she  had  placed 
her  affections.  I  am  pleased  with  every  instance  of  delicacy  in  those 
who  are  so  dear  to  me ;  and  I  think  I  read  your  soul  on  the  occasion 
you  mention.  I  shall  therefore  only  entreat  you  to  consider  me  as  one 
who  wishes  in  every  way  to  promote  your  happiness. 

General  Schuyler  was  ordered  by  Congress  to  Morris- 
town  to  confer  with  Washington.  He  took  a  house,  sent 
for  his  family,  and  remained  until  late  in  the  summer. 
The  closest  friendship  was  formed  between  Schuyler  and 
Hamilton,  which,  with  common  political  interests  and  deep 
ening  sympathy,  increased  from  year  to  year.  The  good 
fairies  of  Nevis  who  had  attended  Hamilton's  birth  never 
did  better  for  him  than  when  they  gave  him  Elizabeth 
Schuyler  for  wife  and  Philip  Schuyler  for  father  and 
friend.  And  they  had  blasted  the  very  roots  of  the  chief 
impediment  to  success,  for  he  triumphed  steadily  and 
without  effort  over  what  has  poisoned  the  lives  of  many 
men ;  and  triumphed  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  truth 


THE   LITTLE   LION  201 

was  vaguely  known  always,  and  kept  in  the  quiver  of  his 
enemies. 

As  Hamilton  was  absent  from  Headquarters  but  seldom 
during  General  Schuyler's  sojourn,  the  lovers  met  almost 
every  evening,  and  occasionally  Washington,  who  pos 
sessed  certain  sympathies  based  on  long  experience,  would 
give  Hamilton  a  morning  free,  and  suggest  a  ride  through 
the  woods.  Never  were  two  people  happier  nor  more 
inherently  suited.  Hamilton's  instinct  had  guided  him 
safely  past  more  brilliant  women  to  one  who  willingly 
would  fold  herself  round  his  energetic  individuality  of 
many  parts,  fitting  into  every  division  and  crevice.  She 
was  receptive,  sympathetic,  adaptive,  with  sufficient  intel 
ligence  to  appreciate  the  superlative  brain  of  the  man 
whom  she  never  ceased  to  worship  and  to  regard  as  a 
being  of  unmortal  clay.  A  brilliant  ambitious  wife  in 
the  same  house  with  Hamilton  might  have  written  a  pic 
turesque  diary,  but  the  domestic  instrument  would  have 
twanged  with  discords.  Hamilton  was  unselfish,  and  could 
not  do  enough  for  those  he  loved ;  but  he  was  used  to  the 
first  place,  to  the  unquestioned  yielding  of  it  to  his  young 
high-mightiness  by  his  clever  aspiring  friends,  by  the  army 
of  his  common  acquaintance,  and  in  many  ways  by  Wash 
ington  himself.  Had  he  married  Angelica  Schuyler,  that 
independent,  high-spirited,  lively,  adorable  woman,  prob 
ably  they  would  have  boxed  each  other's  ears  at  the  end 
of  a  week. 

Hamilton  made  the  dash  on  Staten  Island  with  Lord 
Sterling,  and  in  March  went  with  General  St.  Clair  and 
Colonel  Carrington  to  negotiate  with  the  British  commis 
sioners  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners ;  before  the  battle  of 
Springfield  he  was  sent  out  to  reconnoitre.  Otherwise  his 
days  were  taken  up  bombarding  the  Congress  with  letters 
representing  the  necessity  of  drafting  troops  to  meet  the 
coming  emergencies. 

He  and  Miss  Betsey  Schuyler  had  a  very  pretty  plan, 
which  was  nothing  less  than  that  they  should  go  to  Europe 
on  their  wedding  tour,  Congress  to  find  his  presence  nec 
essary  at  the  Court  of  France.  The  suggestion  originated 


202  THE   CONQUEROR 

with  Laurens,  who  had  been  asked  to  go  as  secretary  to 
Franklin.  He  had  no  wish  to  go,  and  knowing  Hamilton's 
ardent  desire  to  visit  Europe  and  growing  impatience  with 
his  work,  had  recommended  his  name  to  the  Congress. 
General  Schuyler  would  have  procured  a  leave  of  ab 
sence  for  his  impending  son-in-law,  and  sent  the  young 
couple  to  Europe  with  his  blessing  and  a  heavy  wallet,  but 
Hamilton  would  as  soon  have  forged  a  man's  name  as 
travelled  at  his  expense.  He  hoped  that  the  Congress 
would  send  him.  He  was  keenly  alive  to  the  value  of 
studying  Europe  at  first  hand  before  he  was  called  upon 
to  help  in  the  modelling  of  the  new  Republic,  and  the  vis 
ion  of  wandering  in  historic  lands  with  his  bride  kept  him 
awake  at  night.  Moreover,  he  was  desperately  tired  of 
his  life  at  Headquarters.  When  the  expedition  to  Staten 
Island  was  in  question,  he  asked  Washington,  through 
Lafayette,  to  give  him  the  command  of  a  battalion  which 
happened  to  be  without  a  field-officer.  Washington  re 
fused,  partly  from  those  motives  of  policy  to  which  he 
ever  showed  an  almost  niggling  adherence,  but  more 
because  he  could  not  spare  his  most  useful  aide.  Ham 
ilton,  who  was  bursting  for  action  of  any  sort,  retired  to 
his  detested  little  office  in  angry  disappointment.  But 
he  was  a  philosopher.  He  adjusted  himself  to  the  Inevi 
table,  and  dismissed  the  matter  from  his  mind,  after  reg 
istering  a  vow  that  he  would  take  advantage  of  the  first 
excuse  which  might  offer  to  resign  his  position. 

The  Schuylers  returned  to  Albany.  The  French  fleet 
arrived,  and  hovered  well  beyond  the  range  of  British  guns, 
having  no  desire  to  risk  an  engagement  until  reinforced. 
Its  Admiral,  Count  Rochambeau,  having  a  grievance,  Ham 
ilton  advised  a  personal  conference. 

"We  might  suggest  that  he  meet  us  halfway  —  say  at 
Wethersfield,  near  Hartford,"  he  added.  "That  would 
save  us  something  in  travelling  expenses." 

Washington  sighed  heavily.  "We  are  worse  off  than 
you  think,"  he  said.  "  I  might  scrape  together  money 
enough  for  half  the  journey,  but  no  more.  Lafayette  and 
his  aide  must  go  with  us  —  to  say  nothing  of  the  escort. 


THE   LITTLE   LION  203 

Think  of  the  innkeepers'  bills,  for  ourselves  and  horses. 
What  to  do  I  confess  I  do  not  know,  for  I  should  confer 
with  this  Frenchman  at  once." 

"  Go  we  must,  sir,"  said  Hamilton,  decidedly,  "if  we  have 
to  take  up  a  collection  —  why  not?  If  an  object  cannot 
be  accomplished  one  way,  try  another."  He  stood  up  and 
emptied  the  contents  of  his  pockets  on  the  table.  "  Only 
five  hundred  beggarly  continentals,"  he  said  ruefully. 
"  However,  who  knows  what  treasures  may  line  more 
careful  pockets  than  mine  ?  I  know  they  will  come  forth 
as  spontaneously.  Have  I  your  permission  to  try,  sir  ?  " 

Washington  nodded,  and  Hamilton  ran  downstairs, 
pressed  Meade  into  service,  and  together  they  made  the 
round  of  the  officers'  quarters.  He  returned  at  the  end  of 
an  hour  and  threw  a  huge  bundle  of  paper  on  the  table. 
"  Only  eight  thousand  dollars,  sir,"  he  said.  "  It's  the 
best  that  any  man  could  do.  But  I  think  it  may  carry  us 
through." 

"  It  will  have  to,"  said  Washington.  "  Remind  me,  my 
dear  boy,  if  you  see  me  eating  too  much.  I  have  such  an 
appetite ! " 

They  set  out  on  their  journey  a  week  later,  having  com 
municated  with  Rochambeau,  who  agreed  to  meet  them 
at  Wethersfield.  All  went  well,  for  the  wretched  inns 
were  not  exorbitant,  until  they  reached  Hartford.  They 
arrived  late  in  the  afternoon,  weary  and  ravenous.  After 
a  bath  and  a  glimpse  of  luxurious  beds,  they  marched  to 
the  dining  room  and  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous  repast,  whose 
like  had  greeted  neither  nostril  nor  palate  for  many  a  day. 
The  wines  were  mellow,  the  tobacco  green,  the  conver 
sation  gay  until  midnight.  Hamilton  sang  "The  Drum," 
and  many  another  song  rang  among  the  rafters.  Wash 
ington  retired  first,  bidding  the  youngsters  enjoy  them 
selves.  The  young  men  arose  at  their  accustomed  hour 
next  morning,  with  appetites  renewed,  but  waited  in  vain 
for  their  Chief.  Hamilton  finally  knocked  at  his  door. 
There  was  no  response,  and  a  servant  told  him  that  the 
General  had  gone  out  nearly  an  hour  before.  He  went 
in  search,  bidding  Lafayette  and  M' Henry  remain  behind. 


204  THE   CONQUEROR 

As  he  had  anticipated,  he  found  Washington  in  a  secluded 
nook,  engaged  in  prayer.  He  waited  a  few  moments,  then 
coughed  respectfully.  Washington  immediately  rose,  his 
harassed  face  showing  little  relief. 

"Is  anything  wrong,  sir?"  asked  Hamilton,  anxiously. 

"  Alas  !  "  said  the  General,  "  I  wonder  that  you,  too,  are 
not  driven  to  prayer,  to  intercede  for  help  in  this  distressing 
predicament.  Think  of  that  extravagant  repast  we  con 
sumed  last  night.  God  help  me,  but  I  was  so  famished  I 
never  gave  a  thought  to  consequences.  Unquestionably, 
the  breakfast  will  be  on  a  like  scale.  And  we  have  but 
eight  thousand  dollars  with  which  to  pay  the  bill!" 

"  It  is  true  !  I  never  gave  the  matter  a  thought  —  I  am 
cursedly  extravagant.  And  we  must  get  home !  I  suppose 
we  shall  have  to  fast  all  the  way.  Well,  we've  fasted 
before,  and  the  memory  of  last  night's  dinner  may  sustain 
us  — 

"  But  this  man's  bill!     How  are  we  to  meet  it  ?  " 

"  Shall  I  speak  to  him,  sir  ?  Tell  him  unreservedly  our 
predicament  —  that  these  wretched  eight  thousand  dollars 
are  all  we  have  in  the  world  ?  Perhaps  he  is  a  good  pa 
triot,  and  will  call  the  account  square." 

"Do,"  said  Washington,  "and  come  here  and  tell  me 
what  he  says.  I  am  too  mortified  to  show  my  face.  I  shall 
not  enter  the  house  again." 

Hamilton  walked  slowly  to  the  house,  little  caring  for 
his  errand.  He  returned  on  a  dead  run. 

"We  are  saved,  sir!"  he  cried,  almost  in  Washington's 
arms.  "  Governor  Trumbull  has  sent  word  to  all  the  hostel- 
ries  that  we  are  to  be  his  guests  while  we  are  in  the  state 
of  Connecticut ! " 

Washington  said  his  prayers  again,  and  ate  two  chickens 
for  breakfast. 

On  the  return  from  this  conference,  when  approaching 
the  house  of  General  Benedict  Arnold,  opposite  West 
Point,  where  they  were  invited  for  breakfast,  Washington 
suddenly  decided  to  accompany  Lafayette,  who  wished  to 
inspect  some  earthworks. 

"  You  need  not  come,"  he  said  to  Hamilton  and  M'Henry. 


THE   LITTLE   LION  205 

I  know  that  you  are  both  in  love  with  Mrs.  Arnold.  Go 
on-  We  will  join  you  presently." 

The  young  men  were  greeted  with  effusion  by  the  pretty 
hostess,  with  absent  reserve  by  her  husband.  Mrs.  Arnold 
left  the  room  to  order  that  the  breakfast  be  delayed. 
While  she  was  absent,  a  note  was  brought  to  Arnold.  He 
opened  it,  turned  green,  and  rising  hastily,  announced 
that  his  presence  was  demanded  at  West  Point  and  left  the 
room.  The  sound  of  a  smothered  scream  and  fall  came 
from  above.  A  moment  later  the  aides  heard  the  sound 
of  galloping  hoofs. 

Their  suspicions  aroused,  they  ran  outside.  A  messen 
ger,  with  a  despatch  from  Colonel  Jameson,  awaited  Wash 
ington's  arrival.  Hamilton  tore  open  the  paper.  It 
contained  the  news  that  a  British  spy  had  been  captured 
within  the  lines.  In  an  instant  Hamilton  and  M'Henry 
were  on  their  horses  and  off  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitive. 
That  Arnold  was  a  traitor  and  had  fled  to  the  British  war 
ship,  Vulture,  hovering  in  Haverstraw  Bay,  a  slower  wit 
than  Hamilton's  would  have  assumed.  The  terrified  scoun 
drel  was  too  quick  for  them.  He  had  ridden  over  a  preci 
pice  to  the  shore  below,  and  under  protection  of  a  flag  of 
truce  was  far  down  the  river  when  his  pursuers  sighted 
him.  They  returned  with  all  speed. 

I  shall  not  repeat  the  oft-told  tale  of  Andrews  capture, 
trial,  and  death.  Nowhere  has  it  been  so  well  told  as  by 
Hamilton  himself,  in  a  letter  to  Laurens,  printed  at  the 
time  and  universally  read.  It  is  only  necessary  here  to 
allude  to  his  share  in  that  unhappiest  episode  of  the  war. 
When  Washington  reached  the  house  his  aide  was  engaged , 
in  consoling  Mrs.  Arnold,  who  was  shrieking  and  raving, 
weeping  and  fainting  ;  imposing  on  Hamilton  a  task  varied 
and  puzzling,  even  to  one  of  his  schooling.  But  she  was 
very  young,  very  charming,  and  in  a  tragic  plight.  Wash 
ington  himself  wiped  away  a  tear,  and  for  a  moment 
forgot  the  barely  averted  consequences  of  her  husband's 
treason,  while  he  assisted  Hamilton  in  assuaging  a  grief 
so  bitter  and  so  appealing.  As  soon  as  was  possible  he 
sent  her  through  the  British  lines. 


206  THE   CONQUEROR 

But  Hamilton  quickly  forgot  Mrs.  Arnold  in  his  sym 
pathy  and  admiration  for  the  unfortunate  Andre.  He 
conceived  a  quick  and  poignant  friendship  for  the  brilliant 
accomplished  young  Englishman,  with  the  dreamy  soft  face 
of  a  girl,  and  a  mettle  which  had  brought  him  to  destruc 
tion.  Hamilton  did  all  he  could  to  save  him,  short  of  sug 
gesting  to  Andre  to  ask  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  offer  Arnold 
in  exchange.  He  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  the  officers  at 
West  Point  in  the  prisoner's  behalf,  gave  up  his  leisure 
to  diverting  Andre's  mind,  and  persuaded  Washington  to 
delay  the  execution  and  send  an  indirect  suggestion  to 
Clinton  to  offer  the  exchange  himself.  When  all  hope 
was  over,  he  personally  begged  Washington  to  heed  An 
dre's  request  for  a  soldier's  death,  and  not  condemn  such 
a  man  to  the  gibbet.  Washington  gladly  would  have 
saved  his  interesting  prisoner's  life,  and  felt  deeply  for 
him,  but  again  those  motives  of  policy  prevailed,  and 
Andre  was  executed  like  a  common  malefactor. 

VIII 

Washington  was  in  temporary  quarters  —  a  cramped  and 
wretched  tavern  —  at  Liberty  Pole,  New  Jersey.  The  inac 
tion  being  oppressive,  Hamilton  concentrated  his  thoughts 
on  the  condition  and  needs  of  the  country. 

I  am  sorry  that  the  same  spirit  of  indifference  to  public  affairs  pre 
vails,  [he  wrote  to  Sears].  It  is  necessary  we  should  rouse  and  begin 
to  do  our  business  in  earnest,  or  we  shall  play  a  losing  game.  We  must 
have  a  government  with  more  power.  We  must  have  a  tax  in  kind. 
We  must  have  a  foreign  loan.  We  must  have  a  bank  on  the  true 
principles  of  a  bank.  We  must  have  an  administration  distinct  from 
Congress,  and  in  the  hands  of  single  men  under  their  orders.  We 
must,  above  all  things,  have  an  army  for  the  war.  .  .  .  We  are  told 
here  there  is  to  be  a  Congress  of  the  neutral  powers  at  the  Hague  for 
meditating  of  peace.  God  send  it  may  be  true.  We  want  it ;  but  if 
the  idea  goes  abroad,  ten  to  one  if  we  do  not  fancy  the  thing  done, 
and  fall  into  a  profound  sleep  till  the  cannon  of  the  enemy  waken  us 
next  campaign.  This  is  our  national  character. 

Hamilton,  the  High  Priest  of  Energy,  had  long  since 
declared  war  against  the  genius  of  the  American  people, 


THE    LITTLE   LION  207 

who  believed  in  God  and  the  art  of  leisure.  Hamilton 
believed  in  God  and  a  cabinet  of  zealous  ministers.  He 
was  already  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  estimable  but  hesitant 
patriots,  and  in  times  to  come  his  unremitting  and  remorse 
less  energy  was  to  be  a  subject  of  reproach  by  associates 
and  enemies  alike.  Even  Jefferson,  that  idol  of  the  pres 
ent  as  of  the  past  democracy,  had  timidly  declared  against 
separation  in  1774,  while  Hamilton,  a  boy  of  seventeen, 
had  been  the  first  to  suggest  the  resort  to  arms,  and  inces 
sant  in  his  endeavours  until  the  great  result  was  accom 
plished.  He  had  countless  other  schemes,  and  he  knew 
that  eventually  he  would  succeed  in  driving  the  American 
people  before  the  point  of  his  quill.  That  his  task  would 
be  long  and  arduous  did  not  daunt  him  for  a  moment. 
By  this  time  he  knew  every  want  of  the  country,  and  was  de 
termined  upon  the  reorganization  of  the  government.  The 
energy  which  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics 
of  the  American  nation  to-day  was  generated  by  Hamil 
ton,  might,  indeed,  be  said  to  be  the  persistence  and  diffu 
sion  of  his  ego.  For  the  matter  of  that,  all  that  is  greatest 
in  this  American  evolution  of  a  century  was  typified  in 
Hamilton.  Not  only  his  formidable  energy,  but  his  un 
qualified  honour  and  integrity,  his  unquenchable  optimism, 
his  extraordinary  nimbleness  of  mind  and  readiness  of 
resource,  his  gay  good-nature,  high  spirits,  and  buoyancy, 
his  light  philosophy  effervescing  above  unsounded  depths, 
his  inability  to  see  when  he  was  beaten,  his  remorseless 
industry,  his  hard  common  sense,  combined  with  a  versatile 
cleverness  which  makes  for  shallowness  in  another  race, 
his  careless  generosity,  his  aptitude  for  detail  and  impa 
tience  of  it,  his  reckless  bravery  in  war  and  intrepidity 
in  peace,  even  his  highly  strung  nerves,  excitability,  and 
obliging  readiness  at  all  times  for  a  fight,  raise  him  high 
above  history  as  the  genius  of  the  American  race.  The 
reverse  side  of  the  national  character  we  owe  to  the  greatest 
of  his  rivals ;  as  will  ^  zzzn  hereafter. 

During  the  sojourn  at  Liberty  Pole,  Washington  and 
he  sat  through  many  nights  discussing  the  imperative  need 
of  the  reorganization  of  the  government,  and  the  best 


2o8  THE   CONQUEROR 

methods  by  which  it  could  be  accomplished.  The  resuh 
was  Hamilton's  letter  to  James  Duane,  an  important  mem 
ber  of  the  Congress. 

This  letter,  no  doubt  the  most  remarkable  of  its  kind 
ever  written,  and  as  interesting  to-day  as  when  Hamilton 
conceived  it,  is  far  too  long  to  be  quoted.  It  began 
with  an  exhaustive  analysis  of  the  reasons  for  the  failure 
of  Congress  to  cope  with  a  situation  which  was  becom 
ing  more  threatening  every  hour,  and  urged  the  exam 
ple  of  the  Grecian  republics  and  the  Swiss  cantons  against 
the  attempted  confederation  of  the  States  without  a  strong 
centralized  government.  Lacking  a  common  tie  of  suffi 
cient  strength,  the  States  would  inevitably  drift  toward 
independent  sovereignty,  and  they  had  given  signal  proof 
in  the  matter  of  raising  troops,  contributing  money,  and 
in  their  everlasting  disputes  about  boundary  lines,  as  to 
the  absolute  lack  of  any  common  public  spirit.  His  rem 
edy,  in  brief,  was  a  convention  of  the  States  for  the  pur 
pose  of  creating  a  Federal  Constitution,  the  distributing  of 
the  powers  of  government  into  separate  departments,  with 
Presidents  of  War,  Marine,  and  Trade,  a  secretary  of  For 
eign  Affairs,  and  a  Financier,  defining  their  prerogatives ; 
the  States  to  have  no  privileges  beyond  an  internal  police 
for  the  protection  of  the  property  and  the  rights  of  individ 
uals,  and  to  raise  money  by  internal  taxes ;  the  army  to 
be  recruited  on  a  permanent  establishment.  In  addition, 
there  was  an  elaborate  system  of  taxation,  by  which  the 
country  could  be  supported  in  all  its  emergencies.  His 
favourite  plan  of  a  National  Bank  was  elaborated  in  minute 
detail,  the  immediate  necessity  for  a  foreign  loan  dwelt 
upon  with  sharp  reproof,  and  examples  given  of  the  re 
cruiting  of  armies  in  European  states. 

Out  of  a'  multitude  of  suggestions  a  few  were  adopted 
within  a  short  time,  but  the  great  central  suggestion,  the 
calling  of  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  Fed 
eral  Constitution,  was  to  be  harnrr.e^o.  at  for  many  weary 
years  before  jealous  States  and  unconfident  patriots  could 
be  persuaded  to  a  measure  so  monarchical  and  so  bold. 
But  the  letter  is  on  record,  and  nothing  more  logical,  far- 


THE   LITTLE   LION  209 

sighted,  and  comprehensive  ever  was  written.  It  contained 
the  foundation-stones  upon  which  this  government  of  the 
United  States  stands  to-day.  Congress  put  on  its  spec 
tacles  and  read  it  with  many  grunts,  magnanimously  ex 
pressing  admiration  for  a  youth  who  had  fearlessly  grappled 
with  questions  which  addled  older  brains  ;  but  its  audacious 
suggestions  of  a  government  greater  than  Congress,  and 
of  a  bank  which  would  add  to  their  troubles,  were  not  taken 
seriously  for  a  moment. 

Hamilton  also  found  time  to  write  a  good  many  love 
letters.  Here  is  one  of  them  :  — 

I  would  not  have  you  imagine,  Miss,  that  I  write  you  so  often  to 
gratify  your  wishes  or  please  your  vanity  ;  but  merely  to  indulge  myself, 
and  to  comply  with  that  restless  propensity  of  my  mind  which  will  not 
be  happy  unless  I  am  doing  something  in  which  you  are  concerned. 
This  may  seem  a  very  idle  disposition  in  a  philosopher  and  a  soldier, 
but  I  can  plead  illustrious  examples  in  my  justification.  Achilles  liked 
to  have  sacrificed  Greece  and  his  glory  to  a  female  captive,  and  Anthony 
lost  a  world  for  a  woman.  I  am  very  sorry  times  are  so  changed  as  to 
oblige  me  to  go  to  antiquity  for  my  apology,  but  I  confess,  to  the  dis 
grace  of  the  present  time,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  as  many 
who  are  as  far  gone  as  myself  in  the  laudable  Zeal  of  the  fair  sex.  I 
suspect,  however,  if  others  knew  the  charm  of  my  sweetheart  as  I  do,  I 
could  have  a  great  number  of  competitors.  I  wish  I  could  give  you  an 
idea  of  her.  You  can  have  no  conception  of  how  sweet  a  girl  she  is. 
It  is  only  in  my  heart  that  her  image  is  truly  drawn.  She  has  a  lovely 
form  and  still  more  lovely  mind.  She  is  all  goodness,  the  gentlest,  the 
dearest,  the  tenderest  of  her  sex.  Ah,  Betsey,  how  I  love  her  ! 

His  reiterated  demand  for  a  foreign  loan,  and  the  send 
ing  of  a  special  envoy  to  obtain  it,  at  last  wrung  a  reluctant 
consent  from  Congress.  Lafayette  was  his  politic  sugges 
tion,  and  Congress  would  have  indorsed  it,  but  that  ad 
venturous  young  hero  had  not  come  to  America  to  return 
and  beg  money  on  his  own  doorstep.  There  was  a  prospect 
of  fighting  in  the  immediate  future,  and  he  was  determined 
to  add  to  his  renown.  The  choice  then  lay  between  Ham 
ilton  and  Laurens,  who  had  received  the  thanks  of  Congress 
for  his  distinguished  services  in  the  field,  and  whose  father 
had  been  a  president  of  that  body.  Lafayette  and  all 
the  Frenchmen  were  anxious  that  the  mission  be  given  to 
Hamilton.  The  former  went  to  Philadelphia  and  talked 


210  THE   CONQUEROR 

to  half  the  Congress.  He  offered  Hamilton  private  letters 
which  would  introduce  him  to  the  best  society  of  Europe ; 
adding,  "  I  intend  giving  you  the  key  of  the  cabinet,  as 
well  as  of  the  societies  which  influence  them." 

Laurens,  by  this  time,  was  eager  to  go.  His  father,  who 
had  started  for  Holland  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  had 
been  captured  by  the  British  and  confined  in  the  Tower  of 
London ;  the  foreign  mission  would  give  him  an  opportunity 
to  attempt  his  liberation.  Moreover,  life  was  very  dull  at 
present,  and  he  knew  himself  to  be  possessed  of  diplomatic 
talents.  But  he  was  also  aware  of  Hamilton's  ardent  desire 
to  visit  Europe,  all  that  it  would  mean  to  that  insatiate  mind, 
his  weariness  of  his  present  position.  Washington  would 
give  his  consent  to  the  temporary  absence  of  Hamilton,  for 
the  French  money  was  the  vital  necessity  of  the  Republic's 
life,  and  he  knew  that  his  indomitable  aide  would  not  re 
turn  without  it.  Therefore  Laurens  wrote  to  Hamilton, 
who  was  in  Albany  awaiting  his  wedding-day,  that  he 
should  resign  in  his  favour,  and  congratulated  him  on  so 
brilliant  and  distinguished  a  honeymoon. 

The  struggle  in  Hamilton's  mind  was  brief.  The  pros 
pect  of  sailing  with  his  bride  on  a  long  and  delightful 
journey  that  could  not  fail  to  bring  him  highest  honour 
had  made  his  blood  dance.  Moreover,  in  the  previous 
month  Washington  had  again  refused  his  request  for  an 
independent  command.  It  took  him  but  a  short  time  to 
relinquish  this  cherished  dream  when  he  thought  of  the 
unhappy  plight  of  Mr.  Laurens,  and  remembered  the  deep 
anxiety  of  the  son,  often  expressed.  He  wrote  to  Laurens, 
withdrawing  in  the  most  decisive  terms.  Laurens  was  not 
to  be  outdone.  He  loved  his  father,  but  he  loved  Hamil 
ton  more.  He  pressed  the  appointment  upon  his  friend, 
protesting  that  the  affairs  of  the  elder  Laurens  would  be 
quite  as  safe  in  his  hands.  Hamilton  prevailed,  and  Con 
gress,  having  waited  amiably  while  the  two  martial  youths 
had  it  out,  unanimously  appointed  Laurens.  He  could  not 
sail  until  February,  and  as  soon  as  the  matter  was  decided 
obtained  leave  of  absence  and  repaired  in  all  haste  to  Albany^ 
to  be  present  at  Hamilton's  wedding. 


THE   LITTLE   LION  211 

IX 

The  wedding  of  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Elizabeth 
Schuyler  was  the  most  notable  private  event  of  the  Revo 
lution.  The  immense  social  and  political  consequence  of 
the  Schuylers,  and  the  romantic  fame  of  the  young  aide,  of 
whom  the  greatest  things  possible  were  expected,  brought 
the  aristocracy  of  New  York  and  the  Jersies  to  Albany 
despite  the  inclement  winter  weather.  The  large  house  of 
the  Schuylers  gave  a  prolonged  hospitality  to  the  women, 
and  the  men  lodged  in  the  patriarchal  little  town.  But 
although  Hamilton  was  glad  to  see  the  Livingstons,  Ster 
lings,  and  Boudinots  again,  the  greater  number  of  the 
guests  interested  him  far  less  than  a  small  group  of 
weather-beaten  soldiers,  of  which  this  occasion  was  the 
happy  cause  of  reunion.  Troup  was  there,  full  of  youth 
and  honours.  He  had  received  the  thanks  of  Congress  for 
his  services  at  Saratoga,  and  been  appointed  secretary  of 
the  Board  of  War.  Recently  he  had  resigned  from  the 
army,  and  was  completing  his  law  studies.  Nicolas  Fish 
came  with  Lafayette,  whose  light  artillery  he  commanded. 
He  was  known  as  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier,  and  so  excel 
lent  a  disciplinarian  that  he  had  won  the  approval  and  con 
fidence  of  Washington.  He  still  parted  his  little  fringe  in 
the  middle,  and  his  face  was  as  chubby  as  ever,  his  eyes 
as  solemn.  Lafayette,  who  had  brought  a  box  full  of 
clothes  that  had  dazzled  Paris,  embraced  Hamilton  with 
tears,  but  they  were  soon  deep  in  conjectures  of  the  next 
campaign.  Laurens,  looking  like  a  king  in  exile,  wrung 
many  hearts.  Hamilton's  brother  aides,  unfortunately,  were 
the  more  closely  bound  by  his  absence,  but  they  had  de 
spatched  him  with  their  blessing  and  much  chaffing. 

The  hall  of  the  Schuyler  mansion  was  about  twenty  feet 
square  and  panelled  in  white.  It  was  decorated  with  holly, 
and  for  three  nights  before  the  wedding  illuminated  by  hun 
dreds  of  wax  candles,  while  the  young  people  danced  till 
three  in  the  morning.  The  Schuyler  house,  long  accus 
tomed  to  entertaining,  had  never  been  gayer,  and  no  one 
was  more  content  than  the  chatelaine.  Although  she  had 


212  THE   CONQUEROR 

been  reasonably  sure  of  Elizabeth,  there  was  no  telling  at 
what  moment  the  maiden  might  yield  to  the  romantic  mania 
of  the  time,  and  climb  out  of  her  window  at  night  while 
Hamilton  stood  shivering  below.  Now  all  danger  was  past, 
and  Mrs.  Schuyler  moved,  large,  placid,  and  still  handsome, 
among  her  guests,  beaming  so  affectionately  whenever  she 
met  Mrs.  Carter's  flashing  eyes  that  Peggy  and  Cornelia 
renewed  their  vows  to  elope  when  the  hour  and  the  men 
arrived.  General  Schuyler,  once  more  on  the  crest  of  public 
approval,  was  always  grave  and  stern,  but  he,  too,  breathed 
satisfaction  and  relief.  He  was  a  tall  man  of  military 
appearance,  powerful,  muscular,  slender  ;  but  as  his  nose 
was  large  and  fleshy,  and  he  wore  a  ragged-looking  wig 
with  wings  like  Washington's,  he  could  not  be  called  hand 
some.  It  was  a  noble  countenance,  however,  and  his  black 
eyes  flashed  and  pierced. 

As  for  Hamilton  and  Miss  Schuyler,  who  had  a  trunk  full 
of  charming  new  gowns,  they  were  as  happy  as  two  chil 
dren,  and  danced  the  night  through.  They  were  married 
on  the  2Oth,  in  the  drawing-room,  in  front  of  the  splendid 
mantel,  which  the  housewives  had  spent  much  time  in  admir 
ing.  The  bride  wore  the  white  which  became  her  best, 
made  with  a  long  pointed  bodice  and  paniers,  and  lace  that 
had  been  worn  by  the  wife  of  the  first  patroon.  She  had 
risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  wig,  and  her  mass  of  black  hair 
was  twisted  mercilessly  tight  under  the  spreading  white 
monstrosity  to  which  her  veil  was  attached.  Hamilton 
wore  a  black  velvet  coat,  as  befitting  his  impending  state. 
Its  lining  and  the  short  trousers  were  of  white  satin.  His 
shapely  legs  were  in  white  silk,  his  feet  in  pumps  with 
diamond  buckles,  the  present  of  Lafayette.  He,  too,  wore 
a  wig,  —  a  close  one,  with  a  queue,  —  but  he  got  rid  of  it 
immediately  after  the  ceremony,  for  it  heated  his  head. 

Hamilton  had  then  reached  his  full  height,  about  five 
feet  six.  His  bride  was  perhaps  three  inches  shorter. 
The  world  vowed  that  never  had  there  been  so  pretty  a 
couple,  nor  one  so  well  matched  in  every  way.  Both  were 
the  perfection  of  make,  and  the  one  as  fair  and  fresh  as  a 
Scot,  the  other  a  golden  gipsy,  the  one  all  fire  and  energy, 


THE   LITTLE   LION  213 

the  other  docile  and  tender,  but  with  sufficient  spirit  and 
intelligence.  It  is  seldom  that  the  world  so  generously 
gives  its  blessing,  but  it  might  have  withheld  it,  for  all  that 
Hamilton  and  his  bride  would  have  cared. 

Hamilton's  honeymoon  was  brief.  There  was  a  mass  of 
correspondence  awaiting  him,  and  no  place  for  a  bride  in 
the  humble  Dutch  house  at  New  Windsor  where  Washing 
ton  had  gone  into  winter  quarters.  But  the  distance  was 
not  great,  and  he  could  hope  for  flying  leaves  of  absence. 
Washington  was  not  unsympathetic  to  lovers  ;  he  had  been 
known  to  unbend  and  advise  his  aides  when  complications 
threatened  or  a  siege  seemed  hopeless ;  and  he  had  given 
Hamilton  the  longest  leave  possible.  Nevertheless,  the 
bridegroom  set  forth,  one  harsh  January  morning,  on  his 
long  journey,  over  roads  a  foot  deep  in  snow,  and  through 
solitary  winter  forests,  with  anything  but  an  impassioned 
desire  to  see  General  Washington  again.  Had  he  been 
returning  to  the  command  of  a  corps,  with  a  prospect  of 
stirring  events  as  soon  as  the  snow  melted,  he  would  have 
spurred  his  horse  with  high  satisfaction,  even  though  he 
left  a  bride  behind  him  ;  but  to  return  to  a  drudgery  which 
he  hated  the  more  for  having  escaped  it  for  three  enchanted 
weeks,  made  his  spirit  turn  its  back  to  the  horse's  head. 
He  resolved  anew  to  resign  if  an  opportunity  offered. 
Four  years  of  that  particular  sort  of  devotion  to  the  pa 
triot  cause  were  enough.  He  wished  to  demonstrate  his 
patriotism  in  other  ways.  He  had  accomplished  the  pri 
mary  object  for  which  Washington  had  pressed  him  into 
service,  and  he  believed  that  the  war  was  nearing  its  finish  ; 
there  was  nothing  he  could  now  do  at  Headquarters  which 
the  other  aides  could  not  do  as  well,  and  he  wanted  mili 
tary  excitement  and  renown  while  their  possibilities  existed. 

X 

The  first  task  awaiting  him  upon  his  arrival  at  Head 
quarters  was  to  draw  up  a  letter  of  instruction  for  Laurens, 
a  task  which  required  minute  care  ;  for  on  its  suggestions, 
as  much  as  on  Laurens's  brilliant  talents,  depended  the 


214  THE   CONQUEROR 

strength  of  a  mission  whose  failure  might  mean  that  of  the 
American  arms.  Laurens  had  requested  the  letter,  and 
told  Hamilton  that  he  should  be  guided  by  it.  He  did  not 
anticipate  a  royal  condition  of  mind  which  would  prompt 
him  practically  to  carry  off  the  French  money-bags  under 
the  king's  astonished  nose,  and  he  knew  Hamilton's  com 
mand  of  every  argument  connected  with  the  painful  sub 
ject  of  financial  needs.  Hamilton  drew  up  a  lucid  and 
comprehensive  letter,  in  nine  parts,  which  Laurens  could 
study  at  his  leisure  on  the  frigate,  Alliance  ;  then  attacked 
his  accumulated  duties.  They  left  him  little  leisure  to 
remember  he  was  a  bridegroom,  although  he  occasionally 
directed  his  gaze  toward  the  North  with  some  longing. 
His  freedom  approached,  however,  and  it  was  swift  and 
unexpected. 

It  came  on  the  i6th  of  February.  His  office  was  in 
his  bedroom.  He  had  just  completed  a  letter  containing 
instructions  of  an  important  nature  for  the  commissary, 
and  started  in  search  of  Tilghman,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
see  it  safely  delivered.  On  the  stairs  he  passed  Wash 
ington,  whose  brow  was  heavy.  The  General,  with  that 
brevity  which  was  an  indication  of  his  passionate  temper 
fighting  against  a  self-control  which  he  must  have  knocked 
flat  with  great  satisfaction  at  times,  ejaculated  that  he 
wished  to  speak  with  him  at  once.  Hamilton  replied  that 
he  would  wait  upon  him  immediately,  and  hastened  to 
Tilghman's  office,  wondering  what  had  occurred  to  stir  the 
depths  of  his  Chief.  He  was  but  a  moment  with  Tilghman, 
but  on  the  stairs  he  met  Lafayette,  who  was  in  search  of 
him  upon  a  matter  of  business.  It  is  possible  that  Hamil 
ton  should  not  have  permitted  himself  to  be  detained,  but 
at  all  events  he  did,  for  perhaps  two  minutes.  Suddenly 
he  became  conscious  that  Washington  was  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs,  and  wondering  if  he  had  awaited  him 
there,  he  abruptly  broke  off  his  conversation  with  Lafay 
ette,  and  ran  upward.  Washington  looked  as  if  about  to 
thunder  anathema  upon  the  human  race.  He  had  been 
annoyed  since  dawn,  and  his  passions  fairly  flew  at  this 
last  indignity. 


THE   LITTLE   LION  215 

"Colonel  Hamilton!"  he  exclaimed.  "You  have  kept 
me  waiting  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  these  ten  minutes.  I 
must  tell  you,  sir,  you  treat  me  with  disrespect." 

Hamilton's  eyes  blazed  and  his  head  went  back,  but  his 
quick  brain  leapt  to  the  long-desired  opportunity.  He 
replied  as  calmly  as  if  his  heart  were  not  thumping,  "  I 
am  not  conscious  of  it,  sir,  but  since  you  have  thought 
it  necessary  to  tell  me  so,  we  part." 

"  Very  well,  sir !  "  replied  Washington,  "  if  it  be  your 
choice  !  "  He  turned  his  back  and  strode  to  his  office. 

Hamilton  went  to  his  room  with  a  light  heart,  feeling 
as  if  the  pigeon-holes  were  marching  out  of  his  brain. 
The  breach  was  Washington's ;  he  himself  had  answered 
with  dignity,  and  could  leave  with  a  clear  conscience. 
He  had  not  kept  Washington  waiting  above  four  min 
utes,  and  he  did  not  feel  that  an  apology  was  necessary. 

"  Oh,"  he  thought  aloud,  "  I  feel  as  if  I  had  grown 
wings."  He  would  return  to  his  bride  for  a  few  weeks, 
then  apply  once  more  for  a  command. 

There  was  a  knock,  and  Tilghman  entered.  The  young 
men  looked  at  each  other  in  silence  for  a  moment ;  Tilgh 
man  with  an  almost  comical  anxiety,  Hamilton  with  alert 
defiance. 

"Well?"  demanded  Hamilton. 

"I  come  from  the  Chief  —  ambassador  extraordinary. 
Look  out  of  the  window,  or  I  shall  not  have  courage  to  go 
on.  He's  put  the  devil  to  bed  and  is  monstrous  sorry  this 
misunderstanding  has  occurred — " 

"Misunderstanding?"  snorted  Hamilton. 

"You  know  my  love  of  euphony,  Hamilton.  Pray  let 
me  finish.  I'd  rather  be  Laurens  on  my  way  to  beg. 
What  is  a  king  to  a  lion?  But  seriously,  my  dear,  the 
Chief  is  desperately  sorry  this  has  occurred.  He  has 
deputed  me  to  assure  you  of  his  great  confidence  in  your 
abilities,  integrity,  and  usefulness,  and  of  his  desire,  in  a 
candid  conversation,  to  heal  a  difference  which  could  not 
have  happened  but  in  a  moment  of  passion.  Do  go  and  see 
him  at  once,  and  then  we  shall  all  sleep  in  peace  to-night." 

But  Hamilton  shook  his  head  decidedly.     "  You  know 


216  THE   CONQUEROR 

how  tired  I  am  of  all  this,"  he  said,  "  and  that  I  can  be  as 
useful  and  far  more  agreeably  active  in  the  field.  If  I 
consent  to  this  interview,  I  am  lost.  I  have  never  doubted 
the  Chief's  affection  for  me,  but  he  is  also  the  most  astute 
of  men,  and  knows  my  weakness.  If,  arguments  having 
failed,  he  puts  his  arm  about  my  shoulders  and  says,  '  My 
boy,  do  not  desert  me,'  I  shall  melt,  and  vow  that  neither 
bride  nor  glory  could  beckon  me  from  him.  So  listen 
attentively,  mon  ami,  and  deliver  my  answer  as  follows : 
ist.  I  have  taken  my  resolve  in  a  manner  not  to  be  re 
voked.  2d.  As  a  conversation  could  serve  no  other  pur 
pose  than  to  produce  explanations,  mutually  disagreeable, 
though  I  certainly  will  not  refuse  an  interview  if  he  desires 
it,  yet  I  should  be  happy  if  he  would  permit  me  to  decline  it. 
3d.  That,  though  determined  to  leave  the  family,  the  same 
principles  which  have  kept  me  so  long  in  it  will  continue 
to  direct  my  conduct  toward  him  when  out  of  it.  4th. 
That  I  do  not  wish  to  distress  him  or  the  public  business 
by  quitting  him  before  he  can  derive  other  assistance  by 
the  return  of  some  of  the  gentlemen  who  are  absent.  5th. 
And  that  in  the  meantime  it  depends  on  him  to  let  our 
behaviour  to  each  other  be  the  same  as  if  nothing  had 
happened." 

Tilghman  heaved  a  deep  sigh.  "  Then  you  really  mean 
to  go  ?  "  he  said.  "  Heartless  wretch  !  Have  you  no  mercy 
on  us  ?  Headquarters  will  be  a  tomb,  with  Washington  re 
posing  on  top.  Think  of  the  long  and  solemn  breakfasts, 
the  funereal  dinners,  the  brief  but  awful  suppers.  Wash 
ington  will  never  open  his  mouth  again,  and  I  never  had 
the  courage  to  speak  first.  If  ever  you  deign  to  visit  us, 
you  will  find  that  we  have  lost  the  power  of  speech.  I  re 
peat  that  you  have  no  heart  in  your  body." 

Hamilton  laughed.  "  If  you  did  not  know  that  I  love 
you,  you  would  not  sit  there  and  revile  me.  No  family  has 
ever  been  happier  than  ours.  In  four  years  there  has  not 
been  a  quarrel  until  to-day.  I  can  assure  you  that  my 
heart  will  ache  when  the  time  comes  to  leave  you,  but  I 
really  had  got  to  the  end  of  my  tether.  I  have  long  felt  as 
if  I  could  not  go  on  another  day." 


THE  LITTLE   LION  217 

"  'Tis  grinding,  monotonous  work,"  admitted  Tilghman, 
"  and  we've  all  wondered  how  you  have  stood  it  as  long  as 
this  —  every  bit  of  you  was  made  for  action.  Well,  I'll 
take  your  message  to  the  Chief." 

Washington  consented  to  waive  the  explanation  and  sent 
Hamilton  another  message,  thanking  him  for  consenting 
to  remain  until  Harrison  and  Meade  returned. 

XI 

Little  Mrs.  Hamilton  was  delighted  with  the  course 
affairs  had  taken,  and  pleaded  for  resignation  from  the 
army.  But  to  this  Hamilton  would  not  hearken.  Anxious 
as  he  was  for  the  war  to  finish,  that  he  might  begin  upon 
the  foundations  of  home  and  fortune,  he  had  no  intention 
of  deserting  a  cause  to  which  he  had  pledged  himself,  and 
in  which  there  still  was  a  chance  for  him  to  achieve  dis 
tinction.  So  far,  his  ambitions  were  wholly  military.  If 
the  profound  thought  he  had  given  to  the  present  and 
future  needs  of  the  Republic  was  not  wholly  impersonal ; 
if  he  took  for  granted  that  he  had  a  part  to  play  when 
the  Revolution  finished,  it  was  little  more  than  a  dream  at 
present.  His  very  temperament  was  martial,  the  energy 
and  impetuosity  of  his  nature  were  in  their  element  on  the 
battlefield,  and  he  would  rather  have  been  a  great  general 
than  the  elder  Pitt.  But  although  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  he  would  have  become  a  great  general,  had  cir 
cumstance  favoured  his  pet  ambition,  yet  Washington  was 
a  better  judge  of  the  usefulness  of  his  several  abilities  than 
he  was  himself.  Not  only  had  that  reader  of  men  made 
up  his  mind  that  a  brain  like  his  favourite's  should  not  be 
wasted  on  the  battlefield,  —  left  there,  perhaps,  while  dolts 
escaped,  for  Hamilton  had  no  appreciation  of  fear  or  dan 
ger,  —  but  he  saw  in  him  the  future  statesman,  fertile,  crea 
tive,  executive,  commanding ;  and  he  could  have  no  better 
training  than  at  a  desk  in  his  office.  Phenomenally  preco 
cious,  even  mature,  as  Hamilton's  brain  had  been  when 
they  met  that  morning  on  the  Heights  of  Harlem,  these 
four  years  had  given  it  a  structural  growth  which  it  would 


2i8  THE   CONQUEROR 

not  have  acquired  in  camp  life,  and  to  which  few  men  of 
forty  were  entitled.  Of  this  fact  Hamilton  was  apprecia 
tive,  and  he  was  too  philosophical  to  harbour  regrets ;  but 
that  period  was  over  now,  and  he  wanted  to  fight. 

On  April  2/th  he  wrote  to  Washington,  asking  for  em 
ployment  during  the  approaching  campaign,  suggesting 
the  command  of  a  light  corps,  and  modestly  but  decidedly 
stating  his  claims. 

Washington  was  greatly  embarrassed.  Every  arbitrary 
appointment  caused  a  ferment  in  the  army,  where  jealousies 
were  hotter  than  martial  ardours.  Washington  was  politic 
above  all  things,  but  to  refuse  Hamilton  a  request  after 
their  quarrel  and  parting  was  the  last  thing  he  wished  to  do. 
He  felt  that  he  had  no  choice,  however,  and  wrote  at  once, 
elaborating  his  reasons  for  refusal,  ending  as  follows:  — 

My  principal  concern  rises  from  an  apprehension  that  you  will 
impute  my  refusal  of  your  request  to  other  motives  than  those  I  have 
expressed,  but  I  beg  you  to  be  assured  I  am  only  influenced  by  the 
reasons  I  have  mentioned. 

Hamilton  knew  him  too  well  to  misunderstand  him,  but 
he  was  deeply  disappointed.  He  retired  into  the  library 
behind  the  drawing-room  of  the  Schuyler  mansion,  and 
wrote  another  and  a  more  elaborate  letter  to  Robert  Morris. 
He  began  with  a  reiteration  of  the  impotence  of  Congress, 
its  loss  of  the  confidence  of  this  country  and  of  Europe, 
the  necessity  for  an  executive  ministry,  and  stated  that  the 
time  was  past  to  indulge  in  hopes  of  foreign  aid.  The 
States  must  depend  upon  themselves,  and  their  only  hope 
lay  in  a  National  Bank.  There  had  been  some  diffidence 
in  his  previous  letter.  There  was  none  in  this,  and  he  had 
a  greater  mastery  of  the  subject.  In  something  like  thirty 
pages  of  close  writing,  he  lays  down  every  law,  extensive 
and  minute,  for  the  building  of  a  National  Bank,  and  not 
the  most  remarkable  thing  about  this  letter  is  the  psy 
chological  knowledge  it  betrays  of  the  American  people. 
Having  despatched  it,  he  wrote  again  to  Washington, 
demonstrating  that  his  case  was  dissimilar  from  those 
the  Chief  had  quoted.  He  disposed  of  each  case  in 


THE  LITTLE   LION  219 

turn,  and  his  presentation  of  his  own  claims  was  equally 
unanswerable.  Washington,  who  was  too  wise  to  enter 
into  a  controversy  with  Hamilton's  pen,  did  not  reply  to 
the  letter,  but  made  up  his  mind  to  do  what  he  could  for 
him,  although  still  determined  there  should  be  no  disaffec 
tion  in  the  army  of  his  making. 

Meanwhile  Hamilton  received  letters  from  Lafayette, 
begging  him  to  hasten  South  and  share  his  exile ;  from 
Washington,  asking  advice ;  and  from  members  of  the  fam 
ily,  reminding  him  of  their  affection  and  regret.  Tilgh- 
man's  is  characteristic  :  — 

Headquarters,  27th  April. 

MY  DEAR  HAMILTON  :  Between  me  and  thee  there  is  a  gulf,  or 
I  should  not  have  been  thus  long  without  seeing  you.  My  faith  is 
strong,  but  not  strong  enough  to  attempt  walking  on  the  waters.  You 
must  not  suppose  from  my  dealing  so  much  in  Scripture  phrase  that  I 
am  either  drunk  with  religion  or  with  wine,  though  had  I  been  inclined 
to  the  latter  I  might  have  found  a  jolly  companion  in  my  lord,  who 
came  here  yesterday.  We  have  not  a  word  of  news.  ...  I  must  go 
over  and  see  you  soon,  for  I  am  not  yet  weaned  from  you,  nor  do  I 
desire  to  be.  I  will  not  present  so  cold  words  as  compliments  to  Mrs. 
Hamilton.  She  has  an  equal  share  of  the  best  wishes  of 

Your  most  affectionate 

TlLGHMAN. 

The  following  was  from  Laurens  :  — 

I  am  indebted  to  you,  my  dear  Hamilton,  for  two  letters :  the  first 
from  Albany,  as  masterly  a  piece  of  cynicism  as  ever  was  penned  ;  the 
other  from  Philadelphia,  dated  the  second  March  ;  in  both  you  mention 
a  design  of  retiring,  which  makes  me  extremely  unhappy.  I  would  not 
wish  to  have  you  for  a  moment  withdraw  from  the  public  service  ;  at 
the  same  time  my  friendship  for  you,  and  knowledge  of  your  value  to 
the  United  States,  makes  me  most  ardently  desire  that  you  should  fill 
only  the  first  offices  of  the  Republic.  I  was  flattered  with  an  account 
of  your  being  elected  a  delegate  from  New  York,  and  am  much  mortified 
not  to  hear  it  confirmed  by  yourself.  I  must  confess  to  you  that  at 
the  present  stage  of  the  war,  I  should  prefer  your  going  into  Congress, 
and  from  thence  becoming  a  minister  plenipotentiary  for  peace,  to  your 
remaining  in  the  army,  where  the  dull  system  of  seniority,  and  the  tab 
leau,  would  prevent  you  from  having  the  important  commands  to  which 
you  are  entitled ;  but,  at  any  rate,  I  will  not  have  you  renounce  your 
rank  unless  you  entered  the  career  above  mentioned.  Your  private 
affairs  cannot  require  such  immediate  and  close  attention.  You  speak 
like  a  paterfamilias  surrounded  with  a  numerous  progeny. 


220  THE   CONQUEROR 

On  the  26th  of  May  he  had  an  appreciative  letter 
from  Robert  Morris,  thanking  him  for  his  suggestions, 
and  assuring  him  of  their  acceptability.  He  promises  a 
bank  on  Hamilton's  plan,  although  with  far  less  capital ; 
still  it  may  afterward  be  increased  to  any  extent. 

The  northern  land  was  full  of  amenities,  the  river  gay 
with  pleasure  barges.  The  French  gardens  about  the 
Schuyler  mansion  were  romantic  for  saunterings  with  the 
loveliest  of  brides ;  the  seats  beneath  the  great  trees  com 
manded  the  wild  heights  opposite.  Forty  of  the  finest 
horses  in  the  country  were  in  General  Schuyler's  stables, 
and  many  carriages.  There  was  a  constant  stream  of  dis 
tinguished  guests.  But  Hamilton,  who  could  dally  pleas- 
urably  for  a  short  time,  had  no  real  affinity  for  anything 
but  work.  There  being  no  immediate  prospect  of  fighting, 
he  retired  again  to  the  library  and  began  that  series  of 
papers  called  The  Contincntalist,  which  were  read  as  atten 
tively  as  if  peace  had  come.  They  examined  the  defects 
of  the  existing  league  of  states,  their  jealousies,  which 
operated  against  the  formation  of  a  Federal  government, 
then  proceeded  to  enumerate  the  powers  with  which  such 
a  government  should  be  clothed. 

Hamilton  did  not  wait  with  any  particular  grace,  but  even 
the  desired  command  came  to  him  after  a  reasonable  period 
of  attempted  patience.  At  Washington's  request  he  accom 
panied  him  to  Newport  to  confer  with  Rochambeau.  Al 
though  the  Chief  did  not  allude  to  Hamilton's  last  letter, 
their  intercourse  on  this  journey  was  as  natural  and  inti 
mate  as  ever ;  and  Washington  did  not  conceal  his  pleasure 
in  the  society  of  this  the  most  captivating  and  endearing 
of  his  many  young  friends.  After  the  conference  was  over, 
Hamilton  returned  to  Albany  for  a  brief  visit,  then  deter 
mined  to  force  Washington  to  show  his  hand.  He  joined  the 
army  at  Dobbs  Ferry,  and  sent  the  Chief  his  commission. 
Tilghman  returned  with  it,  express  haste,  and  the  assurance 
that  the  General  would  endeavour  to  give  him  a  command, 
nearly  such  as  he  could  desire  in  the  present  circumstance 
of  the  army.  Hamilton  had  accomplished  his  object.  He 
retained  his  commission  and  quartered  with  General  Lincoln. 


THE   LITTLE  LION  221 

When  Washington  arrived  at  Dobbs  Ferry  and  went 
into  temporary  quarters,  he  gave  a  large  dinner  to  the 
French  officers,  and  invited  Hamilton  to  preside. 

His  graceful  manners  and  witty  speeches  provoked  universal  admi 
ration  [runs  the  pen  of  a  contemporary].  He  was  the  youngest  and 
smallest  man  present.  His  hair  was  turned  back  from  the  forehead, 
powdered,  and  queued  at  the  back.  His  face  was  boyishly  fair,  and  lighted 
up  with  intelligence  and  genius.  Washington,  grave,  elegant,  and  hos 
pitable,  sat  at  the  side  of  the  table,  with  the  accomplished  Count  de 
Rochambeau  on  his  right.  The  Duke  de  Luzerne  occupied  a  seat  oppo 
site.  General  Knox  was  present,  and  so  was  Baron  Steuben. 

Shortly  afterward,  Hamilton  attended  a  council  of  war, 
at  Washington's  invitation.  The  squadron  of  De  Grasse 
was  approaching  the  coast  of  Virginia.  For  the  second 
time,  Washington  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  cherished 
scheme  of  marching  on  New  York,  for  it  was  now  impera 
tive  to  meet  Cornwallis  in  the  South.  The  Chief  com 
pletely  hoodwinked  Clinton  as  to  his  immediate  plans, 
Robert  Morris  raised  the  funds  for  moving  the  army,  and 
Hamilton  obtained  his  command.  To  his  high  satisfaction, 
Fish  was  one  of  his  officers.  Immediately  before  his  de 
parture  for  the  South  he  wrote  to  his  wife.  He  had 
attained  his  desire,  but  he  was  too  unhappy  to  be  playful. 
A  portion  of  the  letter  is  as  follows :  — 

A  part  of  the  army,  rny  dear  girl,  is  going  to  Virginia,  and  I  must, 
of  necessity,  be  separated  at  a  much  greater  distance  from  my  beloved 
wife.  I  cannot  announce  the  fatal  necessity  without  feeling  everything 
that  a  fond  husband  can  feel.  I  am  unhappy  ;  —  I  am  unhappy  beyond 
expression.  I  am  unhappy  because  I  am  to  be  so  remote  from  you ;  be 
cause  I  am  to  hear  from  you  less  frequently  than  I  am  accustomed  to  do. 
I  am  miserable  because  I  know  you  will  be  so ;  I  am  wretched  at  the 
idea  of  flying  so  far  from  you,  without  a  single  hour's  interview,  to  tell 
you  all  my  pains  and  all  my  love.  But  I  cannot  ask  permission  to  visit 
you.  It  might  be  thought  improper  to  leave  my  corps  at  such  a  time 
and  upon  such  an  occasion.  I  must  go  without  seeing  you  —  I  must  go 
without  embracing  you  :  —  alas  !  I  must  go. 

The  allied  armies  moved  on  the  22d  of  August  and  arrived 
within  two  miles  of  the  enemy's  works  at  York  Town,  on 
the  28th  of  September.  Hamilton's  light  infantry  was  at 
tached  to  the  division  of  Lafayette,  who  joined  the  main 


222  THE   CONQUEROR 

army  with  what  was  left  of  his  own.  Laurens  was  also 
in  command  of  a  company  of  light  infantry  in  the  young 
French  general's  division.  He  had  acquitted  himself  brill 
iantly  in  France,  returning,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles  and 
the  discouragement  of  Franklin,  with  two  and  a  half  mill 
ion  livres  in  cash,  part  of  a  subsidy  of  six  millions  of 
livres  granted  by  the  French  king ;  but  he  felt  that  to 
be  in  the  field  again  with  Washington,  Hamilton,  Lafa 
yette,  and  Fish  was  higher  fortune  than  successful  diplo 
macy. 

The  allied  army  was  twelve  thousand  strong ;  Cornwallis 
had  about  seventy-eight  hundred  men.  The  British  com 
mander  was  intrenched  in  the  village  of  York  Town,  the 
main  body  of  his  troops  encamped  on  the  open  grounds 
in  the  rear.  York  Town  is  situated  on  a  peninsula 
formed  by  the  rivers  York  and  James,  and  into  this 
narrow  compass  Cornwallis  had  been  driven  by  the  mas 
terly  tactics  of  Lafayette.  The  arrival  of  De  Grasse's 
fleet  cut  off  all  hope  of  retreat  by  water.  He  made 
but  a  show  of  opposition  during  the  eight  days  employed 
by  the  Americans  in  bringing  up  their  ordnance  and 
making  other  preparations.  On  the  Qth  the  trenches 
were  completed,  and  the  Americans  began  the  bombard 
ment  of  the  town  and  of  the  British  frigates  in  the  river. 
It  continued  for  nearly  twenty-four  hours,  and  so  persistent 
and  terrific  was  the  cannonading,  that  the  British,  being 
unfortunate  in  their  embrasures,  withdrew  most  of  their 
cannon  and  made  infrequent  reply.  On  the  night  of  the 
nth  new  trenches  were  begun  within  two  and  three  hun 
dred  yards  of  the  British  works.  While  they  were  com 
pleting,  the  enemy  opened  new  embrasures,  from  which 
their  fire  was  far  more  effective  than  at  first.  Two  redoubts 
flanked  this  second  parallel  and  desperately  annoyed  the 
men  in  the  trenches.  It  was  determined  to  carry  them  by 
assault,  and  the  American  light  infantry  and  De  Viome- 
nil's  grenadiers  and  chasseurs  were  ordered  to  hold  them 
selves  in  readiness  for  the  attack.  Laurens,  with  eighty 
men,  was  to  turn  the  redoubt  in  order  to  intercept  the 
retreat  of  the  garrison,  but  Hamilton,  for  the  moment,  saw 


THE   LITTLE   LION  223 

his  long-coveted  opportunity  glide  by  him.  Washington 
had  determed  to  give  it  to  our  hero's  old  Elizabethtown 
tutor,  Colonel  Barber,  conceiving  that  the  light  infantry 
which  had  made  the  Virginia  campaign  was  entitled  to 
precedence.  Hamilton  was  standing  with  Major  Fish  when 
the  news  of  this  arrangement  was  brought  to  him.  He 
reached  the  General's  tent  in  three  bounds,  and  poured 
forth  the  most  impetuous  appeal  he  had  ever  permitted 
himself  to  launch  at  Washington.  But  he  was  terribly  in 
earnest,  and  the  prospect  of  losing  this  magnificent  oppor 
tunity  tore  down  the  barriers  of  his  self-possession.  "  It 
is  my  right  to  attack,  sir !  "  he  concluded  passionately.  "  I 
am  the  officer  on  duty !  "  Washington  had  watched  his 
flushed  nervous  face  and  flashing  eyes,  which  had  far 
more  command  in  their  glances  than  appeal,  and  he  never 
made  great  mistakes :  he  knew  that  if  he  refused  this  re 
quest,  Hamilton  never  would  forgive  him. 

"Very  well,"  he  said.     "Take  it." 

Hamilton  ran  back  to  Fish,  crying  :  "  We  have  it.  WTe 
have  it ;  "  and  immediately  began  to  form  his  troops.  The 
order  was  issued  to  advance  in  two  columns,  and  after 
dark  the  march  began,  Hamilton  leading  the  advance 
corps.  The  French  were  to  attack  the  redoubt  on  the 
right. 

The  signal  was  a  shell  from  the  American  batteries,  fol 
lowed  by  one  from  the  French.  The  instant  the  French 
shell  ascended,  Hamilton  gave  the  order  to  advance  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet ;  then  his  impatience,  too  long  gnaw 
ing  at  its  curb,  dominated  him,  and  he  ran  ahead  of  his 
men  and  leaped  to  the  abatis.  For  a  half  moment  he 
stood  alone  on  the  parapet,  then  Fish  reached  him,  and 
together  they  encouraged  the  rest  to  come  on.  Hamilton 
turned  and  sprang  into  the  ditch,  Fish  following.  The 
infantry  was  close  behind,  and  surmounting  the  abatis, 
ditch,  and  palisades,  leaped  into  the  work.  Hamilton  had 
disappeared,  and  they  feared  he  had  fallen,  but  he  was 
investigating ;  he  suddenly  reappeared,  and  formed  the 
troops  in  the  redoubt.  It  surrendered  almost  immediately. 
The  attack  took  but  nine  minutes,  so  irresistible  was  the 


224  THE    CONQUEROR 

impetuosity  of  the  onslaught.  Hamilton  gave  orders  at 
once  to  spare  every  man  who  had  ceased  to  fight.  When 
Colonel  Campbell  advanced  to  surrender,  one  of  the  Ameri 
can  captains  seized  a  bayonet  and  drew  back  to  plunge 
it  into  the  Englishman's  breast.  Hamilton  thrust  it  aside, 
and  Campbell  was  made  prisoner  by  Laurens.  Washington 
was  delighted.  "  Few  cases,"  he  said,  "  have  exhibited 
greater  proofs  of  intrepidity,  coolness,  and  firmness  than 
were  shown  on  this  occasion."  On  the  i/th,  when 
Washington  received  the  proposition  for  surrender  from 
Cornwallis,  he  sent  for  Hamilton  and  asked  his  opinion  of 
the  terms.  To  Laurens  was  given  the  honour  of  repre 
senting  the  American  army  at  the  conference  before  the 
surrender.  Tilghman  rode,  express  haste,  to  Philadelphia 
with  the  first  news  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  and  his 
army. 

Hamilton's  description  of  his  part  in  the  conquest  that 
virtually  put  an  end  to  the  war  is  characteristic. 

Two  nights  ago,  my  Eliza  [he  wrote],  my  duty  and  my  honour 
obliged  me  to  take  a  step  in  which  your  happiness  was  too  much  risked. 
I  commanded  an  attack  upon  one  of  the  enemy's  redoubts ;  we  carried 
it  in  an  instant  and  with  little  loss.  You  will  see  the  particulars  in  the 
Philadelphia  papers.  There  will  be,  certainly,  nothing  more  of  this 
kind ;  all  the  rest  will  be  by  approach ;  and  if  there  should  be  another 
occasion,  it  would  not  fall  to  my  turn  to  execute  it. 

"  It  is  to  be  hoped  so,"  she  said  plaintively  to  her 
mother.  "  Else  shall  I  no  longer  need  to  wear  a  wig." 


XII 

The  next  few  years  may  be  passed  over  quickly ;  they 
are  not  the  most  interesting,  though  not  the  least  happy 
of  Hamilton's  life.  He  returned  home  on  furlough  after 
the  battle  of  York  Town  and  remained  in  his  father-in-law's 
hospitable  home  until  the  birth  of  his  boy,  on  the  22d  of 
January.  Then,  having  made  up  his  mind  that  there  was 
no  further  work  for  him  in  the  army,  and  that  Britain  was 
as  tired  of  the  war  as  the  States,  he  announced  his  inten- 


THE   LITTLE   LION  225 

tion  to  study  for  the  bar.  His  friends  endeavoured  to 
dissuade  him  from  a  career  whose  preparation  was  so  long 
and  arduous,  and  reminded  him  of  the  public  offices  he 
could  have  for  the  asking.  But  Hamilton  was  acquainted 
with  his  capacity  for  annihilating  work,  and  at  this  time 
he  was  not  conscious  of  any  immediate  ambition  but  of 
keeping  his  wife  in  a  proper  style  and  of  founding  a  for 
tune  for  the  education  of  his  children.  His  military  am 
bition  had  been  so  possessing  that  the  sudden  and  brilliant 
finish  at  York  Town  of  his  power  to  gratify  it  had  dwarfed 
for  a  while  any  other  he  may  have  cherished. 

He  took  a  little  house  in  the  long  street  on  the  river 
front,  and  invited  Troup  to  live  with  him.  They  studied 
together.  He  had  been  the  gayest  of  companions,  the 
most  courted  of  favourites,  since  his  return  from  the  wars. 
For  four  months  even  his  wife  and  Troup  had,  save  on 
Sundays,  few  words  with  him  on  unlegal  matters.  His 
brain  excluded  every  memory,  every  interest.  For  the 
first  time  he  omitted  to  write  regularly  to  Mrs.  Mitchell, 
Hugh  Knox,  and  Peter  Lytton.  All  day  and  half  the 
night  he  walked  up  and  down  his  library,  or  his  father-in- 
law's,  reading,  memorizing,  muttering  aloud.  His  friends 
vowed  that  he  marched  the  length  and  width  of  the  Con 
federacy.  He  never  gave  a  more  striking  exhibition  of 
his  control  over  the  powers  of  his  intellect  than  this.  The 
result  was  that  at  the  end  of  four  months  he  obtained  a 
license  to  practise  as  an  attorney,  and  published  a  "  Man 
ual  on  the  Practice  of  Law,"  which,  Troup  tells  us,  "  served 
as  an  instructive  grammar  to  future  students,  and  became 
the  groundwork  of  subsequent  enlarged  practical  treatises." 
If  it  be  protested  that  these  feats  were  impossible,  I  can 
only  reply  that  they  are  historic  facts. 

It  was  during  these  months  of  study  that  Aaron  Burr 
came  to  Albany. 

This  young  man,  also,  was  not  unknown  to  fame ;  and 
the  period  of  the  Revolution  is  the  one  on  which  Burr's 
biographers  should  dilate,  for  it  was  the  only  one  through 
which  he  passed  in  a  manner  entirely  to  his  credit.  He 
was  now  in  Albany,  striving  for  admittance  to  the  bar,  but 

Q 


226  THE   CONQUEROR 

handicapped  by  the  fact  that  he  had  studied  only  two 
years,  instead  of  the  full  three  demanded  by  law. 

While  Burr  did  not  belong  to  the  aristocracy  of  the 
country,  his  family  not  ranking  by  any  means  with  the 
Schuylers,  Van  Rensselaers,  Livingstons,  Jays,  Morrises, 
Roosevelts,  and  others  of  that  small  and  haughty  band, 
still  he  came  of  excellent  and  respectable  stock.  His 
father  had  been  the  Rev.  Aaron  Burr,  President  of 
Princeton  College,  and  his  mother  the  daughter  of  the 
famous  Jonathan  Edwards.  He  was  quick-witted  and  brill 
iant;  and  there  is  no  adjective  which  qualifies  his  ambition. 
He  was  a  year  older  than  Hamilton,  about  an  inch  taller, 
and  very  dark.  His  features  were  well  cut,  his  eyes  black, 
glittering,  and  cold ;  his  bearing  dignified  but  unimposing, 
for  he  bent  his  shoulders  and  walked  heavily.  His  face 
was  not  frank,  even  in  youth,  and  grew  noticeably  craftier. 
He  and  Hamilton  were  the  greatest  fops  in  dress  of  their 
time  ;  but  while  the  elegance  and  beauty  of  attire  sat  with 
a  peculiar  fitness  on  Hamilton,  seeming  but  the  natural 
continuation  of  his  high-bred  face  and  easy  erect  and 
graceful  bearing,  Burr  always  looked  studiously  well- 
dressed.  In  regard  to  their  height,  a  similar  impression 
prevailed.  One  never  forgot  Burr's  small  stature,  and 
often  commented  upon  it.  Comment  upon  Hamilton's 
size  was  rare,  his  proportions  and  motions  were  so  har 
monious;  when  he  was  on  the  platform,  that  ruthless  test 
of  inches,  he  dominated  and  controlled  every  brain  in  the 
audience,  and  his  enemies  vowed  he  was  in  league  with 
the  devil. 

Burr  brought  letters  to  General  Schuyler,  and  was  po 
litely  given  the  run  of  the  library.  He  and  Hamilton  had 
met  casually  in  the  army,  but  had  had  no  opportunity  for  ac 
quaintance.  At  this  time  the  law  was  a  subject  of  common 
interest,  and  they  exchanged  many  opinions.  There  was  no 
shock  of  antagonism  at  first,  and  for  that  matter  they  asked 
each  other  to  dinner  as  long  as  Hamilton  lived.  But  Ham 
ilton  estimated  him  justly  at  once,  although,  as  Burr  was  as 
yet  unconscious  of  the  depths  of  his  own  worst  qualities,  the 
most  astute  reader  of  character  hardly  would  suspect  them. 


THE   LITTLE   LION  227 

But  Hamilton  read  that  he  was  artificial  and  unscrupulous, 
and  too  selfish  to  serve  the  country  in  any  of  her  coming 
needs.  Still,  he  was  brilliant  and  fascinating,  and  Hamil 
ton  asked  him  to  his  home.  Burr,  at  first,  was  agreeably 
attracted  to  Hamilton,  whose  radiant  disposition  warmed 
his  colder  nature ;  but  when  he  was  forced  to  accept  the 
astounding  fact  that  Hamilton  had  prepared  himself  for 
the  bar  in  four  months,  digesting  and  remembering  a  moun 
tain  of  knowledge  that  cost  other  men  the  labour  of  years, 
and  had  prepared  a  Manual  besides,  he  experienced  the 
first  convulsion  of  that  jealousy  which  was  to  become  his 
controlling  passion  in  later  years.  Indeed,  he  established 
the  habit  with  that  first  prolonged  paroxysm,  and  he  asked 
himself  sullenly  why  a  nameless  stranger,  from  an  unheard- 
of  Island,  should  have  the  unprecedented  success  which  this 
youth  had  had.  Social  victory,  military  glory,  the  prefer 
ence  of  Washington,  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the 
most  eminent  men  in  the  country,  a  horde  of  friends  who 
talked  of  him  as  if  he  were  a  demi-god,  an  alliance  by  mar 
riage  with  the  greatest  family  in  America,  a  father-in-law 
to  advance  any  man's  ambitions,  a  fascination  which  had 
kept  the  women  talking  until  he  married,  and  finally  a  mem 
ory  and  a  legal  faculty  which  had  so  astounded  the  bar  — 
largely  composed  of  exceptional  men  —  that  it  could  talk  of 
nothing  else  :  it  was  enough  for  a  lifetime,  and  the  man  was 
only  twenty-five.  What  in  heaven's  name  was  to  be  ex 
pected  of  him  before  he  finished  ?  The  more  Burr  brooded, 
the  more  enraged  he  became.  He  had  been  brought  up  to 
think  himself  extraordinary,  although  his  guardian  had 
occasionally  birched  him  when  his  own  confidence  had  dis 
turbed  the  peace ;  he  was  intensely  proud  of  his  military 
career,  and  aware  of  his  fitness  for  the  bar.  But  in  the 
blaze  of  Hamilton's  genius  he  seemed  to  shrivel ;  and  as 
for  having  attempted  to  prepare  himself  for  practice  in  four 
months,  he  might  as  well  have  grafted  wings  to  his  back 
and  expected  them  to  grow.  It  was  some  consolation  to 
reflect  that,  as  aide  and  confidential  secretary  for  four  years 
to  Washington,  Hamilton  had  been  a  student  of  the  law  of 
nations,  and  that  thus  his  mind  was  peculiarly  fitted  to  grasp 


228  THE   CONQUEROR 

what  confronts  most  men  as  a  solid  wall  to  be  taken  down 
stone  by  stone ;  also  that  himself  acknowledged  no  rival 
where  the  affections  of  women  were  concerned.  But  while 
he  lifted  the  drooping  head  of  his  pride,  and  tied  it  firmly 
to  a  stake  with  many  strong  words,  he  chose  to  regard 
Hamilton  as  a  rival,  and  the  idea  grew  until  it  possessed 
him. 

In  July  Robert  Morris,  after  some  correspondence,  per 
suaded  Hamilton  to  accept  the  office  of  Continental  Re 
ceiver  for  a  short  time. 

Your  former  situation  in  the  army  [he  wrote],  the  present  situation 
of  that  very  army,  your  connexions  in  the  state,  your  perfect  knowledge 
of  men  and  measures,  and  the  abilities  with  which  heaven  has  blessed 
you,  will  give  you  a  fine  opportunity  to  forward  the  public  service. 

Hamilton,  who  had  no  desire  to  interrupt  his  studies,  was 
placed  in  a  position  which  gave  him  no  choice ;  his  sense 
of  public  duty  grew  steadily. 

For  my  part  [he  wrote  to  Morris],  considering  the  late  serious 
misfortune  to  our  ally,  the  spirit  of  reformation,  of  wisdom,  and  of 
unanimity,  which  seems  to  have  succeeded  to  that  of  blunder  and 
dissension  in  the  British  government,  and  the  universal  reluctance  of 
these  states  to  do  what  is  right,  I  cannot  help  viewing  our  situation 
as  critical,  and  I  feel  it  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  exert  his  faculties  to 
the  utmost. 

But  in  spite  of  the  onerous  and  disagreeable  duties  of  his 
position,  he  continued  to  pursue  the  course  of  study  neces 
sary  for  admission  to  the  bar  as  a  counsellor.  He  also  found 
time  to  write  a  letter  to  Meade.  The  following  extract  will 
show  that  the  severity  of  his  great  task  was  over,  and  that 
he  was  once  more  alive  to  that  domestic  happiness  to  which 
so  large  a  part  of  his  nature  responded. 

You  reproach  me  with  not  having  said  enough  about  our  little 
stranger.  When  I  wrote  last  I  was  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  him 
to  give  you  his  character.  I  may  now  assure  you  that  your  daughter, 
when  she  sees  him,  will  not  consult  you  about  her  choice,  or  will  only 
do  it  in  respect  to  the  rules  of  decorum.  He  is  truly  a  very  fine  young 
gentleman,  the  most  agreeable  in  conversation  and  manners  of  any  I 
ever  knew,  nor  less  remarkable  for  his  intelligence  and  sweetness  of 
temper.  You  are  not  to  imagine  by  my  beginning  with  his  mental 


THE   LITTLE   LION  229 

qualifications  that  he  is  defective  in  personal.  It  is  agreed  on  all 
hands  that  he  is  handsome  ;  his  features  are  good,  his  eye  is  not  only 
sprightly  and  expressive,  but  it  is  full  of  benignity.  His  attitude  in 
sitting  is,  by  connoisseurs,  esteemed  graceful,  and  he  has  a  method  of 
waving  his  nand  that  announces  the  future  orator.  He  stands,  how 
ever,  rather  awkwardly,  and  as  his  legs  have  not  all  the  delicate  slim- 
ness  of  his  father's,  it  is  feared  he  may  never  excel  as  much  in  dancing, 
which  is  probably  the  only  accomplishment  in  which  he  will  not  be  a 
model.  If  he  has  any  fault  in  manners,  he  laughs  too  much.  He  has 
now  passed  his  seventh  month. 

Happy  by  temperament,  Hamilton  was  at  this  time 
happier  in  his  conditions  —  barring  the  Receivership  — 
than  any  vague,  wistful,  crowded  dream  had  ever  presaged. 
His  wife  was  adorable  and  pretty,  sprightly  and  sympa 
thetic,  yet  accomplished  in  every  art  of  the  Dutch  housewife; 
and  although  he  was  far  too  modest  to  boast,  he  was  pri 
vately  convinced  that  his  baby  was  the  finest  in  the  Con 
federacy.  He  had  a  charming  little  home,  and  Troup,  the 
genial,  hearty,  and  solid,  was  a  member  of  it.  In  General 
and  Mrs.  Schuyler  he  had  found  genuine  parents,  who 
strove  to  make  him  forget  that  he  had  ever  been  without 
a  home.  He  had  been  forced  to  refuse  offers  of  assistance 
from  his  father-in-law  again  and  again.  He  would  do 
nothing  to  violate  his  strong  sense  of  personal  independ 
ence  ;  he  had  half  of  the  arrears  of  his  pay,  Troup  his 
share  of  the  expenses  of  the  little  house.  He  knew  that  in 
a  short  time  he  should  be  making  an  income.  The  clever 
est  of  men,  however,  can  be  hoodwinked  by  the  subtle  sex. 
The  great  Saratoga  estate  of  the  Schuylers  furnished  the 
larder  of  the  Hamiltons  with  many  things  which  the  young 
householder  was  far  too  busy  to  compare  with  his  slender 
purse. 

He  heard  constantly  from  his  friends  in  the  army,  and 
finally  was  persuaded  to  sit  for  a  portrait,  to  be  the  com 
mon  property  of  six  or  eight  of  them.  Money  was  des 
perately  tight,  they  could  not  afford  a  copy  apiece,  but 
each  was  to  possess  it  for  two  months  at  a  time  so  long  as 
he  lived ;  he  who  survived  the  others  to  dispose  of  it  as 
he  chose.  For  Hamilton  to  sit  still  and  look  in  one  direc 
tion  for  half  an  hour  was  nothing  short  of  misery,  even 


230  THE   CONQUEROR 

with  Betsey,  Troup,  and  the  Baby  to  amuse  him ;  and 
only  the  head,  face,  stock,  and  front  of  the  coat  were  fin 
ished.  But  the  artist  managed  to  do  himself  justice  with 
the  massive  spirited  head,  the  deep-set  mischievous  eyes, 
whose  lightnings  never  were  far  from  the  surface ;  the 
humour  in  the  remarkable  curves  of  the  mouth,  the  de 
termination  and  suppressed  energy  of  the  whole  face.  It 
was  a  living  portrayal,  and  Betsey  parted  from  it  with 
tears.  When  she  saw  it  again  her  eyes  were  dim  with 
many  tears.  The  last  of  its  owners  to  survive  fell  far  into 
poverty,  and  sold  it  to  one  of  her  sons.  It  is  to-day  as 
fresh,  as  alive  with  impatient  youth  and  genius,  as  when 
Hamilton  estimated  portrait  painters  thieves  of  time. 

Meanwhile  a  compliment  was  paid  to  him  which  upset 
his  plans,  and  placed  him  for  a  short  time  in  the  awkward 
position  of  hesitating  between  private  desires  and  public 
duty :  he  was  elected  by  the  New  York  legislature,  and 
almost  unanimously,  a  delegate  to  Congress.  Troup 
brought  him  the  news  as  he  was  walking  on  the  broad 
street  along  the  river  front,  muttering  his  Blackstone, 
oblivious  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

"Goto  Congress!"  he  exclaimed.  "Who  goes  to  that 
ramshackle  body  that  is  able  to  keep  out  of  it  ?  Could  not 
they  find  someone  else  to  send  to  distinguish  himself  by 
failure?  I've  my  living  to  make.  If  a  man  in  these  days 
manages  to  support  his  wife  and  child,  there  is  nothing 
else  he  can  do  which  so  entitles  him  to  the  esteem  of  his 
fellow-citizens." 

"True,"  said  Troup,  soothingly;  "there  certainly  is 
nothing  in  that  body  of  old  women  and  lunatics,  perpetu 
ally  bickering  with  thirteen  sovereign,  disobedient,  and 
jealous  States,  to  tempt  the  ambition  of  any  man ;  nor, 
ordinarily,  to  appeal  to  his  sense  of  usefulness.  But  just 
at  present  there  are  several  questions  before  it  with  which 
it  is  thought  you  can  cope  more  successfully  than  any  man 
living.  So  I  think  you  ought  to  go,  and  so  does  General 
Schuyler.  I  know  all  that  you  will  sacrifice,  domestic  as 
well  as  pecuniarily  —  but  remember,  you  solemnly  dedi 
cated  yourself  to  the  service  of  this  country." 


THE   LITTLE   LION  231 

"  I'm  not  likely  to  forget  it,  and  I  am  willing  to  sacrifice 
anything  if  I  am  convinced  of  my  usefulness  in  a  given 
direction,  but  I  see  no  chance  of  accomplishing  aught 
in  Congress,  of  doing  this  country  any  service  until  it  is  a 
nation,  not  a  sack  of  scratching  cats." 

Not  only  was  great  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him, 
but  he  was  not  long  convincing  himself  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  take  his  knowledge  of  certain  subjects  vexing  the 
Confederation,  to  the  decrepit  body  which  was  feebly  striv 
ing  to  save  the  country  from  anarchy.  He  had  given 
little  attention  to  the  general  affairs  of  the  country  during 
the  past  six  months,  but  an  examination  of  them  fired  his 
zeal.  He  accepted  the  appointment,  and  returned  to  his 
law  books  and  his  dispiriting  struggle  with  the  taxes. 

In  the  autumn  Hamilton  received  the  second  of  those 
heavy  blows  by  which  he  was  reminded  that  in  spite  of 
his  magnetism  for  success  he  was  to  suffer  like  other 
mortals.  Laurens  was  dead  —  killed  in  a  petty  skirmish 
which  he  was  so  loath  to  miss  that  he  had  bolted  to  it 
from  a  sick-bed.  Hamilton  mourned  him  passionately, 
and  never  ceased  to  regret  him.  He  was  mercurial  only 
among  his  lighter  feelings.  The  few  people  he  really 
loved  were  a  part  of  his  daily  thoughts,  and  could  set  his 
heartstrings  vibrating  at  any  moment.  Betsey  consoled, 
diverted,  and  bewitched  him,  but  there  were  times  when 
he  would  have  exchanged  her  for  Laurens.  The  perfect 
friendship  of  two  men  is  the  deepest  and  highest  sentiment 
of  which  the  finite  mind  is  capable ;  women  miss  the  best 
in  life. 

In  October  Hamilton  resigned  the  Receivership,  having 
brought  an  honourable  amount  of  order  out  of  chaos  and 
laid  down  the  law  for  the  guidance  of  future  officials. 
November  came,  and  he  set  off  for  Philadelphia  philosophi 
cally,  though  by  no  means  with  a  light  heart.  The  baby 
was  too  young  to  travel ;  he  was  obliged  to  send  his  little 
family  to  General  Schuyler's,  with  no  hope  of  seeing  them 
again  for  months,  and  a  receding  prospect  of  offering  them 
a  home  in  New  York.  His  father-in-law,  not  unmindful 
that  consolation  was  needed,  drove  him  two-thirds  of  the 


232  THE   CONQUEROR 

distance,  thus  saving  him  a  long  ride,  or  its  alternative, 
the  heavy  coach.  In  Philadelphia  he  found  sufficient  work 
awaiting  him  to  drive  all  personal  matters  out  of  his  head. 

It  was  during  this  year  of  hard  work  and  little  result 
that  he  renewed  an  acquaintance  with  James  Madison, 
Jr.,  afterward  fourth  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
Gouverneur  Morris,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  disinter 
ested  young  men  in  the  country,  now  associated  with 
Robert  Morris  in  the  Department  of  Finance.  With  the 
last  the  acquaintance  ripened  into  a  life-long  and  intimate 
friendship  ;  with  Madison  the  friendship  was  equally  ardent 
and  intimate  while  it  lasted.  Madison  had  the  brain  of  a 
statesman,  energy  and  persistence  in  crises,  immense  in 
dustry,  facility  of  speech,  a  broad  contempt  for  the  pre 
tensions  and  mean  bickerings  of  the  States,  and  a  fairly 
national  outlook.  As  Hamilton  would  have  said,  he 
"thought  continentally."  But  he  lacked  individuality. 
He  was  too  patriotic,  too  sincere  to  act  against  his  prin 
ciples,  but  his  principles  could  be  changed  by  a  more 
powerful  and  magnetic  brain  than  his  own,  and  the  inher 
ent  weakness  in  him  demanded  a  stronger  nature  to  cling 
to.  It  happened  that  he  and  Hamilton,  when  they  met 
again  in  Congress,  thought  alike  on  many  subjects,  and  they 
worked  together  in  harmony  from  the  first ;  nevertheless, 
he  was  soon  in  the  position  of  a  double  to  that  towering 
and  energetic  personality,  and  worshipped  it.  In  their 
letters  the  two  young  men  sign  themselves,  "  yours  affec 
tionately,"  "yours  with  deep  attachment,"  which  between 
men  —  I  suppose  —  means  something.  So  noticeable  was 
Madison's  devotion  to  the  most  distinguished  young  man 
of  the  day,  and  a  few  years  later  so  absorbed  was  he  into 
the  huge  personality  of  his  early  friend's  bitterest  enemy, 
that  John  Randolph  once  exclaimed  in  wrath,  "  Madison 
always  was  some  great  man's  mistress  —  first  Hamilton's, 
then  Jefferson's  : "  a  remark  which  was  safe  in  the  days 
of  our  ancestors,  when  life  was  all  work  and  no  satiety. 

Gouverneur  Morris  had  sacrificed  home,  inheritance,  and 
ties  in  the  cause  of  the  Revolution,  most  of  his  family  re 
maining  true  to  the  crown.  His  education  was  thorough, 


THE   LITTLE   LION  233 

however,  and  subsequently  he  had  nine  years  of  Europe, 
of  which  he  left  to  posterity  an  entertaining  record.  Tall, 
handsome,  a  wit,  a  beau,  notable  for  energy  in  Congress, 
erratic,  caustic,  cynical,  but  the  warmest  of  friends,  he 
was  a  pet  of  society,  a  darling  of  women,  and  trusted  by 
all  men.  He  and  Hamilton  had  much  in  common,  and  to 
some  degree  he  took  Laurens's  place ;  not  entirely,  for 
Laurens's  idealism  gave  him  a  pedestal  in  Hamilton's 
memory  which  no  other  man  but  Washington  ever  ap 
proached  ;  and  Morris  was  brutal  in  his  cynicism,  placing 
mankind  but  a  degree  higher  than  the  beasts  of  the  forest. 
But  heart  and  brain  endeared  him  to  Hamilton,  and  no 
man  had  a  loftier  or  more  burning  patriotism.  As  for 
himself,  he  loved  and  admired  Hamilton  above  all  men. 
He  was  as  strong  in  his  nationalism,  believing  Union 
under  a  powerful  central  government  to  be  the  only  hope 
of  the  States.  Both  he  and  Madison  were  leaders ;  but 
both,  even  then,  were  willing  to  be  led  by  Hamilton,  who 
was  several  years  their  junior. 

The  three  young  enthusiasts  made  a  striking  trio  of 
contrasts  as  they  sat  one  evening  over  their  port  and 
walnuts  in  a  private  room  of  a  coffee-house,  where  they 
had  met  to  discuss  the  problems  convulsing  the  unfortu 
nate  country.  Madison  had  the  look  of  a  student,  a 
taciturn  intellectual  visage.  He  spoke  slowly,  weightily, 
and  with  great  precision.  Morris  had,  even  then,  an 
expression  of  cynicism  and  contempt  on  his  handsome 
bold  face,  and  he  swore  magnificently  whenever  his  new 
wooden  leg  interfered  with  his  comfort  or  dignity.  Hamil 
ton,  with  his  fair  mobile  face,  powerful,  penetrating,  deli 
cate,  illuminated  by  eyes  full  of  fire  and  vivacity,  but  owing 
its  chief  attraction  to  a  mouth  as  sweet  as  it  was  firm  and 
humorous,  made  the  other  men  look  almost  heavy.  Madi 
son  was  carelessly  attired,  the  other  two  with  all  the  pictu 
resque  elegance  of  their  time. 

"A  debt  of  $42,000,000,"  groaned  Morris,  "interest 
$2,400,000 ;  Robert  Morris  threatening  to  resign ;  de 
lirious  prospect  of  panic  in  consequence ;  national  spirit 
with  which  we  began  the  war,  a  stinking  wick  under  the 


234  THE   CONQUEROR 

tin  extinguisher  of  States'  selfishness,  stinginess,  and  in 
difference  —  caused  by  the  natural  reversion  of  human 
nature  to  first  principles  after  the  collapse  of  that  enthu 
siasm  which  inflates  mankind  into  a  bombastic  pride  of 
itself  ;  Virginia  pusillanimous,  Rhode  Island  an  old  beldam 
standing  on  the  village  pump  and  shrieking  disapproval 
of  everything  ;  Jay,  Adams,  and  Franklin,  after  years  of 
humiliating  mendicancy,  their  very  hearts  wrinkled  in  the 
service  of  the  stupidest  country  known  to  God  or  man, 
shoved  by  a  Congress  not  fit  to  black  their  boots  under  the 
thumb  of  the  wiliest  and  most  disingenuous  diplomatist  in 
Europe  —  much  France  cares  for  our  interests,  provided 
we  cut  loose  from  Britain;  Newburg  address  and  exciting 
prospect,  in  these  monotonous  times,  of  civil  war,  while 
peace  commission  is  sitting  in  London;  just  demands  of 
men  who  have  fought,  starving  and  naked,  for  a  bare  sub 
sistence  after  the  army  disbands,  modest  request  for  ar 
rears  of  pay,  —  on  which  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  their 
families  turned  out  to  grass  for  seven  years,  — pleasantly 
indorsed  by  the  Congress,  which  feels  safe  in  indorsing 
anything,  and  rejected  by  the  States,  called  upon  to  foot 
the  bill,  as  a  painful  instance  of  the  greed  and  depravity 
of  human  nature  —  there  you  are:  no  money,  no  credit, 
no  government,  no  friends,  —  for  Europe  is  sick  of  us,  — 
no  patriotism  ;  immediate  prospects,  bankruptcy,  civil  war, 
thirteen  separate  meals  for  Europe.  What  do  you  propose, 
Hamilton  ?  I  look  to  you  as  your  Islanders  flee  to  a  stone 
house  in  a  hurricane.  You  are  an  alien,  with  no  damned 
state  roots  to  pull  up,  your  courage  is  un human,  or  un-Ameri 
can,  and  you  are  the  one  man  of  genius  in  the  country. 
Madison  is  heroic  to  a  fault,  a  roaring  Berserker,  but  we 
must  temper  him,  we  must  temper  him;  and  meanwhile  we 
will  both  defer  to  the  peculiar  quality  of  your  mettle." 

Madison,  who  had  not  a  grain  of  humour,  replied  gravely, 
his  rich  southern  brogue  seeming  to  roll  his  words  down 
from  a  height :  "  I  have  a  modest  hope  in  the  address  I  pre 
pared  for  the  citizens  of  Rhode  Island,  more  in  Hamilton's 
really  magnificent  letter  to  the  Governor.  Nothing  can  be 
more  forcible  —  nay,  beguiling — than  his  argument  in  that 


THE   LITTLE   LION  235 

letter  in  favour  of  a  general  government  independent  of  state 
machinery,  and  his  elaborate  appeal  to  that  irritating  little 
commonwealth  to  consent  to  the  levying  of  the  impost  by 
Congress,  necessary  to  the  raising  of  the  moneys.  I  fear 
I  am  not  a  hero,  for  I  confess  I  tremble.  I  fear  the  worst. 
But  at  all  events  I  am  determined  to  place  on  record  that 
I  left  no  stone  unturned  to  save  this  miserable  country." 

"  You  will  go  down  to  posterity  as  a  great  man,  Madison, 
if  you  are  never  given  the  chance  to  be  one,"  replied  the 
father  of  American  humour  and  coinage  ;  "  for  it  is  not  in 
words  but  in  acts  that  we  display  the  faith  that  is  not  in 
us.  Well,  Hamilton?" 

"I  must  confess,"  said  Hamilton,  "that  Congress  ap 
pears  to  me,  as  a  newcomer,  rooted  contentedly  to  its 
chairs,  and  determined  to  do  nothing,  happy  in  the  belief 
that  Providence  has  the  matter  in  hand  and  but  bides 
the  right  moment  to  make  the  whole  world  over.  But  I 
see  no  cause  to  despair,  else  I  should  not  have  come  to 
waste  my  time.  I  fear  that  Rhode  Island  is  too  fossilized 
to  listen  to  us,  but  I  shall  urge  that  we  change  the  principle 
of  the  Confederation  and  vote  to  make  the  States  contrib 
ute  to  the  general  treasury  in  an  equal  proportion  to  their 
means,  by  a  system  of  general  taxation  imposed  under  con 
tinental  authority.  If  the  poorer  States,  irrespective  of 
land  and  numbers,  could  be  relieved,  and  the  wealthier 
taxed  specifically  on  land  and  houses,  the  whole  regulated 
by  continental  legislation,  I  think  that  even  Rhode  Island 
might  be  placated.  It  may  be  that  this  is  not  agreeable 
to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  but  I  shall  make  the  attempt  — 

"  Considering  there  is  no  spirit  in  the  times,  we  might  as 
well  expect  to  inform  its  skull  with  genius  by  means  of  a 
lighted  candle.  You  think  too  well  of  human  nature,  my 
boy  ;  expect  nothing,  that  ye  be  not  disappointed,  especially 
in  the  matter  of  revenue." 

"  I  have  no  exalted  opinion  of  human  nature,  but  if  I 
did  not  think  more  hopefully  of  it  than  you  do,  I  should 
yield  up  that  enthusiasm  without  which  I  can  accomplish 
nothing.  You  have  every  gift,  but  you  will  end  as  a  dilet 
tante  because  your  ideal  is  always  in  the  mud ;  and  it  is 


236  THE   CONQUEROR 

only  now  and  again  that  you  think  it  worth  while  to  pick 
it  up  and  give  it  a  bath." 

"  Right,  right,"  murmured  Morris,  good-naturedly. 
"  Would  that  I  had  your  unquenchable  belief  in  the  worth 
while.  Allied  to  your  abilities  it  will  make  the  new  world 
over  and  upset  the  wicked  plans  of  the  old.  Analyst  and 
disbeliever  in  man's  right  to  his  exaggerated  opinion  of  him 
self,  how  do  you  keep  enthusiasm  abreast  with  knowledge 
of  human  kind?  Tell  me,  Hamilton,  how  do  you  do  it? " 

"  I  fear  'tis  the  essence  of  which  I  am  made.  My  en 
ergies  will  have  outlet  or  tear  me  to  pieces.  When  there 
is  work  to  do,  my  nostrils  quiver  like  a  war-horse's  at  the 
first  roar  and  smoke  —  " 

"  Your  modesty  does  you  infinite  honour ;  the  truth  is, 
you  have  the  holy  fire  of  patriotism  in  an  abnormal  degree. 
I  have  it,  but  I  still  am  normal.  I  have  made  sacrifices  and 
shall  make  more,  but  my  ego  curls  its  lip.  Yours  never 
does.  That  is  the  difference  between  you  and  most  of  us. 
Hundreds  of  us  are  doggedly  determined  to  go  through 
to  the  bitter  end,  sacrifice  money,  youth  and  health;  but 
you  alone  are  happy.  That  is  why  we  love  you  and  are 
glad  to  follow  your  lead.  But,  I  repeat,  how  can  you 
labour  with  such  undying  enthusiasm  for  the  good  of  hu- 
rnaYi  kind  when  you  know  what  they  amount  to  ?  " 

"  Some  are  worth  working  for,  that  is  one  point ;  I  don't 
share  your  opinion  of  general  abasement,  for  the  facts  war 
rant  no  such  opinion.  And  the  battle  of  ideas,  the  fight 
for  certain  stirring  and  race-making  principles,  —  that  is  the 
greatest  game  that  mortals  can  play.  And  to  play  it,  we 
must  have  mortals  for  puppets.  To  create  a  new  govern 
ment,  a  new  race,  to  found  what  may  become  the  greatest 
nation  on  the  earth,  —  what  more  stupendous  destiny  ? 
Even  if  one  were  forgotten,  it  would  be  worth  doing,  so 
tremendous  would  be  the  exercise  of  the  faculties,  so  colos 
sal  the  difficulties.  I  would  have  a  few  men  do  it  all ;  I 
have  no  faith  in  the  uneducated.  The  little  brain,  half 
opened  by  a  village  schoolmaster,  is  pestilential ;  but  in 
the  few  with  sufficient  power  over  the  many,  —  from  whom 
will  be  evolved  more  and  more  to  rank  with  the  first 


THE   LITTLE   LION  237 

few,  —  in  those  I  have  faith,  and  am  proud  to  work  with 
them." 

"  Good.  I'd  not  have  a  monarchy,  but  I'd  have  the 
next  thing  to  it,  with  a  muzzle  on  the  rabble.  Perhaps  I, 
too,  have  faith  in  a  few,  —  in  yourself  and  George  Washing 
ton  ;  and  in  Madison,  our  own  Gibraltar.  But  the  pig 
headed,  selfish,  swinish  —  well,  go  on  with  your  present 
plans.  'Tis  to  hear  those  we  met  to-night,  not  to  analyze 
each  other.  Tell  us  all,  that  we  may  not  only  hope,  but 
work  with  you." 

"The  army  first.  If  retirement  on  half  pay  is  impos 
sible,  then  full  pay  for,  say  six  years,  —  and  the  arrears,  — 
paid  upon  the  disbanding  of  the  army.  Washington,  by 
the  exercise  of  the  greatest  moral  force,  but  one,  that  has 
appeared  in  this  world,  has  averted  a  civil  war  —  I  am  per 
suaded  that  horror  is  averted,  and  I  assume  that  the  coun 
try  does  not  care  eternally  to  disgrace  itself  by  letting  its 
deliverers,  who  have  suffered  all  that  an  army  can  suf 
fer,  return  to  their  ruined  homes  without  the  few  dollars 
necessary  for  another  start  in  life.  I  have  resigned  my 
claim  to  arrears  of  pay,  that  my  argument  may  not  be 
weakened.  Then  a  peace  establishment.  Fancy  leaving  our 
frontiers  to  the  mercy  of  state  militia!  I  shall  urge  that  the 
general  government  have  exclusive  power  over  the  sword, 
to  establish  certain  corps  of  infantry,  artillery,  cavalry,  dra 
goons,  and  engineers,  a  general  system  of  land  fortifica 
tions,  establishment  of  arsenals  and  magazines,  erection  of 
founderies  and  manufactories  for  arms,  of  ports  and  mari 
time  fortifications  —  with  many  details  with  which  I  will 
not  bore  you.  I  shall  urge  the  necessity  of  strengthening 
the  Federal  government  through  the  influence  of  officers 
deriving  their  appointment  directly  from  Congress — always, 
always,  the  necessity  of  strengthening  the  central  govern 
ment,  of  centralizing  power,  and  of  putting  the  States  where 
they  belong.  It  is  federation  or  anarchy.  Then  —  moder 
ate  funds  permanently  pledged  for  the  security  of  lenders. 
I  have  preached  that  since  I  have  dared  to  preach  at  all, 
and  that  is  the  only  solution  of  our  present  distress,  for 
we'll  never  get  another  foreign  loan  —  " 


238  THE  CONQUEROR 

"  We've  accepted  your  wisdom,  but  we  can't  apply  it,'' 
interposed  Morris.     "  Our  only  hope  lies  in  your  national 
government  —  but  go  on." 

"A  moment,"  said  Madison.  "This,  in  regard  to  the 
peace  establishment :  Do  we  apply  a  war  congress  to  a 
state  of  peace,  I  fear  we  shall  too  clearly  define  its  limits. 
The  States  may  refuse  obedience,  and  then  the  poor  in 
valided  body  will  fall  into  greater  disrepute  than  ever." 

"  I  have  thought  of  that,"  replied  Hamilton,  "  and  if  the 
worst  comes  to  the  worst,  I  have  a  radical  plan  to  propose, 
—  that  Congress  publish  frankly  its  imperfections  to  the 
country  —  imperfections  which  make  it  impossible  to  con 
duct  the  public  affairs  with  honour  to  itself  or  advantage 
to  the  United  States ;  that  it  ask  the  States  to  appoint  a 
convention,  with  full  powers  to  revise  the  Confederation, 
and  to  adopt  and  propose  all  necessary  alterations  —  all  to 
be  approved  or  rejected,  in  the  last  instance,  by  the  legis 
latures  of  the  several  States.  That  would  be  the  first  step 
toward  a  national  government.  With  that,  all  things  would 
be  possible,  —  the  payment  of  our  foreign  loan,  of  our  army, 
duties  on  foreign  goods,  which  is  a  source  of  revenue  to 
which  they  are  incredibly  blind ;  the  establishment  of  a  firm 
government,  under  which  all  will  prosper  that  are  willing 
to  work,  of  a  National  Bank,  of  a  peace  army  —  " 

"  Of  Utopia  !  "  exclaimed  Morris.  "  Hamilton,  you  are 
the  least  visionary  man  in  this  country,  but  you  are  God 
knows  how  many  years  ahead  of  your  times.  If  we  are 
ever  on  two  legs  again,  you  will  put  us  there ;  but  your 
golden  locks  will  thin  in  the  process,  and  that  rosy  boyish 
face  we  love  will  be  lined  with  the  seams  of  the  true 
statesman.  Only  you  could  contemplate  imbuing  these 
fossilized  and  commonplace  intellects,  composing  our  Con 
gress  of  the  Confederation  —  mark  the  ring  of  it !  —  with 
a  belief  in  its  own  impotency  and  worthlessness.  You  are 
not  mortal.  I  always  said  it.  When  Duane  gave  me  your 
letter  to  read,  I  remarked :  '  He  withdrew  to  heaven,  and 
wrote  that  letter  on  the  knee  of  the  Almighty;  never  on 
earth  could  he  have  found  the  courage  and  the  optimism. 
No,  Hamilton,  I  would  embrace  you,  did  my  wooden  leg 


THE   LITTLE   LION  239 

permit  me  to  escape  your  wrath,  but  I  can  give  you  no 
encouragement.  You  will  fail  here  —  gloriously,  but  you 
will  fail.  Mark  my  words,  the  army  will  go  home  cursing, 
and  scratch  the  ground  to  feed  its  women.  The  States 
will  have  no  peace  establishment  to  threaten  their  sover 
eign  rights,  we  will  pay  nobody,  and  become  more  and 
more  poverty-stricken  and  contemptible  in  our  own  eyes, 
and  in  the  eyes  of  Europe ;  we  will  do  nothing  that  is  wise 
and  everything  that  is  foolish  — 

"And  then,  when  the  country  is  sick  unto  death,"  inter 
rupted  Hamilton,  "  it  will  awake  to  the  wisdom  of  the  dras 
tic  remedy  and  cohere  into  a  nation." 

"Query,"  said  Madison,  "would  it  not  be  patriotic  to 
push  things  from  bad  to  worse  as  quickly  as  possible  ?  It 
might  be  a  case  of  justifiable  Jesuitism." 

"  And  it  might  lead  to  anarchy  and  the  jaws  of  Europe," 
said  Hamilton.  "  It  is  never  safe  to  go  beyond  a  certain 
point  in  the  management  of  human  affairs.  What  turn 
the  passions  of  the  people  may  take  can  never  be  foretold, 
nor  that  element  of  the  unknown,  which  is  always  under 
the  invisible  cap  and  close  on  one's  heels.  God  knows  I 
have  not  much  patience  in  my  nature,  and  I  do  not  believe 
that  most  of  my  schemes  are  so  far  in  advance  of  even  this 
country's  development ;  but  certain  lessons  must  be  instilled 
by  slow  persistence.  I  have  no  faith  in  rushing  people  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet  in  times  of  peace." 

"  I  think  you  are  right  there,"  said  Morris.  "  But  mark 
my  words,  you'll  propagate  ideas  here,  and  the  result  in 
time  will  be  the  birth  of  a  nation  —  no  doubt  of  that ;  but 
you  must  rest  content  to  live  on  hope  for  the  present.  I 
was  a  fettered  limb  in  this  body  too  long.  I  know  its 
inertia." 

He  knew  whereof  he  spoke.  Hamilton  won  little  but 
additional  reputation,  much  admiration,  half  resentful,  and 
many  enemies.  The  army  went  home  unpaid ;  the  peace 
establishment  consisted  of  eighty  men  ;  little  or  nothing 
was  done  to  relieve  the  national  debt  or  to  carry  on  the 
business  of  government.  Even  his  proposition  to  admit 
the  public  to  the  galleries  of  Congress,  in  the  hope  of  in- 


240  THE   CONQUEROR 

teresting  it  in  governmental  affairs,  only  drew  upon  him 
the  sneer  that  he  could  go  out  on  the  balcony  and  make 
his  speeches  if  he  feared  his  eloquence  was  wasted.  He 
was  accused  of  writing  the  Newburg  address  inciting  the 
officers  to  civil  war,  because  it  was  particularly  well  written, 
and  of  hurrying  Congress  to  Trenton,  when  threatened  by 
a  mutinous  regiment.  But  he  worked  on  undaunted,  leav 
ing  his  indelible  mark ;  for  he  taught  the  States  that  their 
future  prosperity  and  happiness  lay  in  giving  up  to  the 
Union  some  part  of  the  imposts  that  might  be  levied  on 
foreign  commodities,  and  incidentally  the  idea  of  a  double 
government ;  he  proposed  a  definite  system  of  funding  the 
debts  on  continental  securities,  which  gradually  rooted  in 
the  common  sense  of  the  American  people,  and  he  in 
veighed  with  a  bitter  incisiveness,  which  was  tempered  by 
neither  humour  nor  gaiety,  against  the  traitorous  faction 
in  the  pay  of  France.  He  dissuaded  Robert  Morris  from 
resigning,  and  introduced  a  resolution  in  eulogy  of  Wash 
ington's  management  of  his  officers  in  the  most  critical 
hour  of  the  Union's  history.  But  his  immediate  accom 
plishment  was  small  and  discouraging,  although  his  fore 
sight  may  have  anticipated  what  George  Ticknor  Curtis 
wrote  many  years  later  :  — 

The  ideas  of  a  statesman  like  Hamilton,  earnestly  bent  on  the  dis 
covery  and  inculcation  of  truth,  do  not  pass  away.  Wiser  than  those 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  with  a  deeper  knowledge  of  the  science  of 
government  than  most  of  them,  and  constantly  enunciating  principles 
which  extended  far  beyond  the  temporizing  policy  of  the  hour,  the  smiles 
of  his  opponents  only  prove  to  posterity  how  far  he  was  in  advance  of 
them. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  James  M'Henry, 
Lafayette's  former  aide,  and  a  member  of  the  Congress, 
is  interesting  as  a  commentary  on  the  difficulties  of  our 
hero's  position  while  a  member  of  that  body. 

DEAR  HAMILTON  :  The  homilies  you  delivered  in  Congress  are 
still  remembered  with  pleasure.  The  impressions  they  made  are  in  favour 
of  your  integrity  ;  and  no  one  but  believes  you  a  man  of  honour  and  of 
republican  principles.  Were  you  ten  years  older  and  twenty  thousand 
pounds  richer,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  you  might  obtain  the  suffrages 


THE   LITTLE   LION  241 

of  Congress  for  the  highest  office  in  their  gift.  You  are  supposed  to 
possess  various  knowledge,  useful,  substantial,  and  ornamental.  Your 
very  grave  and  your  cautious,  your  men  who  measure  others  by  the  stand 
ard  of  their  own  creeping  politics,  think  you  sometimes  intemperate,  but 
seldom  visonary  :  and  that  were  you  to  pursue  your  object  with  as  much 
cold  perseverance  as  you  do  with  ardour  and  argument,  you  would  become 
irresistible.  In  a  word,  if  you  could  submit  to  spend  a  whole  life  in  dis 
secting  a  fly  you  would  be,  in  their  opinion,  one  of  the  greatest  men  in 
the  world.  Bold  designs  ;  measures  calculated  for  their  rapid  execution  ; 
a  wisdom  that  would  convince  from  its  own  weight  ;  a  project  that  would 
surprise  the  people  into  greater  happiness,  without  giving  them  an  oppor 
tunity  to  view  it  and  reject  it,  are  not  adapted  to  a  council  composed  of 
discordant  elements,  or  a  people  who  have  thirteen  heads,  each  of  which 
pay  superstitious  adorations  to  inferior  divinities. 

Adieu,  my  dear  friend,  and  in  the  days  of  your  happiness  drop  a  line 
to  your 

M1  HENRY. 

At  the  end  of  1783  Hamilton  was  convinced  that  he  was 
of  no  further  immediate  use  to  the  country,  and  refused 
a  reelection  to  the  Congress,  despite  entreaty  and  expostu 
lation,  returning  to  the  happiness  of  his  domestic  life  and 
to  his  neglected  law-books.  The  British  having  evacuated 
New  York,  he  moved  his  family  there  and  entered  imme 
diately  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession. 


BOOK   IV 

"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT" 

INCLUDING    THE    STRANGE    ADVENTURES    OF    THE 
CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


It  was  the  autumn  of  1786.  New  York  had  risen  from 
her  charred  and  battered  ruins.  There  were  cows  on  her 
meadows,  a  lake  with  wooded  shores  as  merely  traditional, 
groves,  gardens,  orchards,  fields,  and  swamps ;  but  her 
business  houses  and  public  buildings  were  ambitious  once 
more,  her  spires  more  lofty  and  enduring,  her  new  dwelling- 
houses,  whether  somewhat  crowded  in  Wall  Street  and 
Broadway,  or  on  the  terraces  of  less  busy  streets,  or  along 
the  river  fronts  and  facing  a  wild  and  lovely  prospect, 
were  square,  substantial,  and  usually  very  large.  And  every 
street  was  an  avenue  of  ancient  trees.  Mrs.  John  Jay,  with 
her  experience  of  foreign  courts,  her  great  beauty,  and  the 
prestige  of  her  distinguished  husband,  was  the  leader  of 
society,  holding  weekly  receptions,  and  the  first  to  receive 
the  many  distinguished  strangers.  Although  society  was 
not  quite  as  gay  as  it  became  three  years  later,  under  a 
more  settled  government  and  hopeful  outlook,  still  there 
was  quiet  entertaining  by  the  Hamiltons,  who  lived  at 
58  Wall  Street,  the  Duers,  Watts,  Livingstons,  Clintons, 
Duanes,  Jays,  Roosevelts,  Van  Cortlandts,  and  other  rep 
resentatives  of  old  New  York  families,  now  returned  to 
their  own.  Congress  was  come  to  New  York  and  estab 
lished  in  the  City  Hall  in  Wall  Street.  It  had  given  the 
final  impetus  to  the  city,  struggling  under  the  burden  of 
ruins  and  debt  left  by  the  British ;  and  society  sauntered 
forth  every  afternoon  in  all  the  glory  of  velvet  and  ruffles, 
three-cornered  hats  recklessly  laced,  brocades,  hoopskirts, 
and  Rohan  hats,  to  promenade  past  the  building  where  the 
moribund  body  was  holding  its  last  sessions.  The  drive 
was  down  the  Broadway  into  the  shades  of  the  Battery, 
with  the  magnificent  prospect  of  bay  and  wooded  shores 

245 


246  THE   CONQUEROR 

beyond.  Politics,  always  epidemic  among  men  and  women 
alike,  had  recently  been  animated  by  Hamilton's  coup  at 
Annapolis,  and  the  prospect  of  a  general  convention  of 
the  States  to  consider  the  reorganization  of  a  government 
which  had  reduced  the  Confederation  to  a  condition  fear 
fully  close  to  anarchy,  the  country  to  ruin,  and  brought 
upon  the  thirteen  sovereign  independent  impotent  and 
warring  States  the  contempt  of  Europe  and  the  threat 
of  its  greed. 

A  group  of  men,  standing  on  a  corner  of  Wall  Street  and 
the  Broadway,  were  laughing  heartily :  a  watch  was  drag 
ging  off  to  jail  two  citizens  who  had  fallen  upon  each 
other  with  the  venom  of  political  antithesis  ;  the  one,  a 
Nationalist,  having  called  Heaven  to  witness  that  Hamilton 
was  a  demi-god,  begotten  to  save  the  wretched  country,  the 
other  vociferating  that  Hamilton  was  the  devil  who  would 
trick  the  country  into  a  monarchy,  create  a  vast  standing 
army,  which  would  proclaim  him  king  and  stand  upon  the 
heads  of  a  people  that  had  fought  and  died  for  freedom, 
while  the  tyrant  exercised  his  abominable  functions. 

The  men  in  the  group  were  Governor  Clinton,  Hamil 
ton's  bitterest  opponent,  but  sufficiently  amused  at  the 
incident ;  William  Livingston,  Governor  of  New  Jersey, 
now  with  but  a  few  hairs  on  the  top  of  his  head  and  a  few 
at  the  base,  his  nose  more  penetrating,  his  eye  more  dis 
approving,  than  ever;  James  Duane,  Mayor  of  New  York; 
John  Jay,  the  most  faultless  character  in  the  Confedera 
tion,  honoured  and  unloved,  his  cold  eyes  ever  burning 
with  an  exalted  fire  ;  and  John  Marshall  of  Virginia, 
munching  an  apple,  his  attire  in  shabby  contrast  to  the 
fashionable  New  Yorkers,  the  black  mane  on  his  splendid 
head  unpowdered  and  tossing  in  the  ocean  breeze. 

"  I  like  your  Hamilton,"  he  announced,  "and  I've  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  I  think  with  him  on  all  matters. 
He's  done  more  to  educate  the  people  up  to  a  rational 
form  of  government  during  the  last  seven  years  than  all 
the  rest  of  us  put  together.  He's  shone  upon  them  like 
a  fixed  star.  Other  comets  have  come  and  gone,  whirling 
them  forward  to  destruction,  but  they  have  always  been 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT "  247 

forced  to  turn  and  look  at  him  again  and  again,  and  he  has 
always  shone  in  the  same  place." 

"  Sir,"  exclaimed  Clinton,  who  was  flushed  with  rage, 
"  are  you  aware  that  I  am  present,  and  that  I  entirely  dis 
approve  of  Mr.  Hamilton's  attempt  to  reduce  the  States  to 
a  condition  of  ignominious  subserviency  to  an  ambitious 
and  tyrannical  central  power  ?  " 

"  I  had  heard  of  you,  sir,"  replied  Marshall,  meekly, 
"  and  I  am  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  to  ask  you  what 
your  remedy  is  for  the  existing  state  of  things  ?  You  will 
admit  that  there  must  be  a  remedy,  and  quickly.  If  not  a 
common  government  with  a  Constitution  empowering  it  to 
regulate  trade,  imposts,  reduce  the  debt,  enter  into  treaties 
with  foreign  powers  wbich  will  not  be  sneered  at,  adminis 
ter  upon  a  thousand  details  which  I  will  not  enumerate, 
and  raise  the  country  from  its  slough  of  contempt,  then 
what  ?  As  the  personage  who  has  taken  the  most  decided 
stand  against  the  enlightened  and  patriotic  efforts  of  Mr. 
Hamilton,  I  appeal  to  you  for  a  counter  suggestion  as 
magnificent  as  his.  I  am  prepared,  sir,  to  listen  with  all 
humility." 

Clinton,  whose  selfish  fear  of  his  own  downfall  with  that 
of  State  supremacy  was  so  well  known  that  a  smile  wrinkled 
across  the  polite  group  of  gentlemen  surrounding  him,  deep 
ened  his  colour  to  purple  under  this  assault,  and  stam 
mered  :  "  Sir,  have  I  not  myself  proposed  an  enlargement 
of  the  powers  of  Congress,  in  order  to  counteract  the 
damnable  policy  of  Britain  ?  Did  not  your  Hamilton 
harangue  that  crowd  I  sanctioned  till  he  got  nearly  all  he 
asked  for  ? " 

"  But  he  knew  better  than  to  ask  for  too  much,  in  the 
conditions,"  replied  Marshall,  suavely.  "  May  I  suggest 
that  you  have  not  answered  my  humble  and  earnest 
questions  ? " 

"  I  answer  no  questions  that  I  hold  to  be  impertinent 
and  unimportant !  "  said  Clinton,  pompously,  and  with  a 
dignified  attempt  to  recover  his  poise.  He  swept  his  hat 
from  his  head  ;  the  New  Yorkers  were  as  punctilious  ;  Mar 
shall  lifted  his  battered  lid  from  the  wild  mass  beneath^ 


248  THE   CONQUEROR 

and  the  popular  Governor  sauntered  down  the  street,  saluted 
deferentially  by  Nationalists  and  followers  alike.  When 
he  had  occasion  to  sweep  his  gorgeous  hat  to  his  knees, 
the  ladies  courtesied  to  the  ground,  their  draperies  taking 
up  the  entire  pavemenl,  and  His  Excellency  was  obliged  to 
encounter  the  carriages  in  the  street. 

"  If  Clinton  were  sure  of  figuring  as  powerfully  in  a 
national  government  as  he  does  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
he  would  withdraw  his  opposition,"  said  Livingston,  con 
temptuously.  "  He  has  been  Governor  for  nine  years. 
New  York  is  his  throne.  He  is  a  king  among  the  com 
mon  people,  who  will  elect  him  indefinitely.  Were  it  not 
for  Hamilton,  he  would  be  New  York,  and  the  awful  pos 
sibilities  lying  hidden  in  the  kernel  of  change  haunt  his 
dreams  at  night.  You  embarrassed  him  in  a  manner  that 
rejoiced  my  heart,  Mr.  Marshall.  I  beg  you  will  do  me 
the  honour  to  dine  with  me  to-night.  I  beg  to  assure 
you  that  your  fame  is  as  known  to  me  as  were  I  a  Vir 
ginian." 

"I'll  accept  the  invitation  with  pleasure,"  replied  Mar 
shall,  whose  manners  were  all  ih^:  his  attire  was  not.  "  I 
shall  be  glad  to  talk  with  you  on  many  subjects.  To-mor 
row  I  shall  pay  my  respects  to  Mr.  Hamilton.  His  has 
been  a  trying  but  not  a  thankless  task.  He  has  addressed 
himself  to  the  right  class  of  men  all  over  the  country,  win 
ning  them  to  his  sound  and  enlightened  views,  giving  them 
courage,  consolidating  them  against  the  self-interested 
advocates  of  State  sovereignty.  That  he  has  so  often 
neglected  a  legal  practice  which  must  bring  him  a  large 
income,  as  well  as  sufficient  personal  glory,  out  of  a  sincere 
pity  for  and  patriotic  interest  in  this  afflicted  country,  gives 
New  York  deep  cause  for  congratulation  that  she  was  in 
such  close  communication  with  that  Island  of  his  youth.  I 
wish  that  fate  had  steered  him  to  Virginia." 

"  Surely  you  have  enough  as  it  is,"  said  Duane,  laugh 
ing  :  "  Washington,  yourself,  Patrick  Henry,  Jefferson, 
Madison,  Randolph.  Spare  us  Hamilton.  We  shall  need 
him  badly  enough.  The  Clinton  faction  is  very  strong. 
That  the  Hamilton  embraces  the  best  spirits  of  the  com- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  249 

munity  means  that  it  is  in  the  minority,  and  needs  the 
unremitting  exercise  of  his  genius  to  counteract  the  disad 
vantage  in  numbers." 

"  I  think  that  what  I  admire  most  in  Hamilton,"  re 
marked  a  newcomer,  a  small  dark  man  of  vivid  personal 
ity,  "  are  his  methods  of  manipulation.  He  picks  out  his 
own  men,  Duer,  Troup,  Malcolm,  has  them  sent  to  the 
legislature,  where  they  blindly  and  indefatigably  obey  his 
behest  and  gain  the  consent  of  that  body  to  the  conven 
tion  at  Annapolis,  then  see  that  he  is  elected  as  principal 
delegate.  He  goes  to  Annapolis  ostensibly  to  attend  a 
commercial  convention :  while  its  insufficient  numbers  are 
drowsing,  he  springs  upon  them  an  eloquent  proposal  for 
a  national  convention  for  reforming  the  Union,  and  forces 
it  through  before  they  know  what  they  are  about.  Cer 
tainly  Mr.  Hamilton  is  a  man  of  genius." 

"  Do  I  understand,  Mr.  Burr,"  said  Jay,  from  his  glacial 
height,  "  that  you  are  impugning  the  purity  of  Mr.  Hamil 
ton's  motives  ? " 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  Burr,  whom  an  archangel  could  not 
have  rebuked.  "  In  the  present  condition  of  things  all 
methods  are  justifiable.  Hamilton  is  great  but  adaptable. 
I  respect  him  for  that  quality  above  all  others,  for  he  is 
quite  the  most  imperious  character  in  America,  and  his 
natural  instinct  is  to  come  out  and  say,  '  You  idiots,  fall 
into  line  behind  me  and  stop  twaddling.  I  will  do  your 
thinking ;  be  kind  enough  not  to  delay  me  further.'  On 
the  other  hand,  he  is  forced  to  be  diplomatic,  to  persuade 
where  he  would  command,  to  move  slowly  instead  of  charg 
ing  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  So,  although  I  have  no 
sympathy  with  his  pronounced  monarchical  inclinations,  I 
respect  his  acquired  methods  of  getting  what  he  wants." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  pronounced  monarchical  incli 
nations  ? "  snorted  Governor  Livingston,  who  could  not 
endure  Burr. 

Burr  gave  his  peculiar  sardonic  laugh.  "  Will  you  deny 
it,  sir?" 

"  Deny  it  ?  I  certainly  am  in  Mr.  Hamilton's  confidence 
to  no  such  extent,  and  I  challenge  you  to  indicate  one  sen- 


250  THE   CONQUEROR 

tence  in  his  published  writings  which  points  to  such  a 
conclusion." 

"  Ah,  he  is  too  clever  for  that ;  but  his  very  walk,  his 
whole  personality  expresses  it,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact 
that  he  never  thinks  of  denying  his  admiration  of  the 
British  Constitution.  And  did  he  not  defend  the  Tories 
after  the  evacuation,  when  no  other  lawyer  would  touch 
them  ?  I  admired  his  courage,  but  it  was  sufficient  evi 
dence  of  the  catholicity  of  his  sentiments." 

"  Mr.  Hamilton  defended  the  abstract  principle  of  right 
against  wrong  in  defending  the  wretched  Tories  against 
the  persecutions  of  an  unmagnanimous  public  sentiment," 
said  Jay,  witheringly.  "  I  should  advise  you,  young  gen 
tleman,  to  become  a  disciple  of  Mr.  Hamilton.  I  can 
recommend  no  course  which  would  prove  so  beneficial." 
And  he  turned  on  his  heel. 

He  had  hit  Burr.  The  jealousy  born  in  Albany  had 
thriven,  with  much  sustenance  since.  Hamilton  was  by 
far  the  most  prominent  figure  at  the  New  York  bar,  and 
was  hastening  to  its  leadership.  Burr  was  conspicuous 
for  legal  ability,  but  never  would  be  first  while  Hamilton 
was  in  the  race.  Moreover,  although  Hamilton  had  not 
then  reached  that  dizzy  height  from  which  a  few  years 
later  he  looked  down  upon  a  gaping  world,  he  was  the 
leader  of  a  growing  and  important  party,  intelligently  fol 
lowed  and  worshipped  by  the  most  eminent  men  in  the 
Confederation,  many  of  them  old  enough  to  be  his  father; 
and  he  was  the  theme  of  every  drawing-room,  of  every 
coffee-house  group  and  conclave.  His  constant  pamphlets 
on  the  subject  nearest  to  all  men's  hearts,  his  eloquent 
speeches  on  the  same  theme  upon  every  possible  occasion, 
and  the  extraordinary  brilliance  of  his  legal  victories,  gave 
people  no  time  to  think  of  other  men.  When  he  entered 
a  drawing-room  general  conversation  ceased,  and  the  com 
pany  revolved  about  him  so  long  as  he  remained.  When 
he  spoke,  all  the  world  went  to  hear.  For  an  ambitious 
young  man  to  be  told  to  attach  himself  to  the  train  of  this 
conquering  hero  was  more  than  poor  Burr  could  stand,  and 
he  replied  angrily :  — 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  251 

"  I  have  the  privilege  of  being  true  to  my  own  convic 
tions,  I  suppose.  They  are  not  Mr.  Hamilton's  and  never 
will  be.  I  do  not  impugn  the  purity  of  his  motives,  but  I 
have  no  desire  to  see  George  Washington  king,  nor  Hamil 
ton,  neither.  I  wish  you  good  day,  sirs,"  and  he  strode 
up  Broadway  to  the  Fields  with  dignity  in  every  inch  of 
him. 

"This  constant  talk  of  Hamilton's  monarchical  principles 
makes  my  gorge  rise,"  said  Livingston.  "  Did  he  not  fight 
as  hard  as  he  was  permitted,  to  drive  monarchy  out  of  the 
country  ?  Was  he  not  the  first  to  sound  the  call  to  arms  ?  " 

"  Hamilton's  exact  attitude  on  that  question  is  not  clearly 
understood,"  replied  Duane,  soothingly,  for  the  heat  of 
Livingston's  republicanism  had  never  abated.  "  I  fancy 
it  is  something  like  this  :  So  far  no  constitution  has  worked 
so  well  as  the  British.  Montesquieu  knew  whereof  he 
praised.  The  number  of  men  in  this  country  equal  to 
the  great  problem  of  self-government  are  in  a  pitiful 
minority.  The  anarchic  conditions  of  the  States,  the  dis 
grace  which  they  have  brought  upon  us,  their  inefficiency 
to  cope  with  any  problem,  the  contemptible  depths  of  human 
nature  which  they  have  revealed  to  the  thinking  members 
of  the  community  —  all  these  causes  inspire  Hamilton, 
incomparably  the  greatest  brain  in  the  country,  with  a 
dread  of  leaving  any  power  whatever  in  their  hands.  He 
believes  firmly  in  the  few  of  tried  brain  and  patriotism. 
I  very  much  doubt  if  he  has  considered  the  subject  of 
actual  monarchy  for  a  moment,  for  he  is  no  dreamer,  and 
he  knows  that  even  his  followers  have  been  Republicans 
too  long.  But  that  he  will  fight  for  the  strongest  sort  of 
national  government,  with  the  least  possible  power  vested 
in  the  States  —  oh,  no  doubt  of  that" 

"  Our  people  are  hopeless,  I  fear,"  said  Livingston,  with 
a  sigh.  "  This  period  of  independency  seems  to  have  de 
moralized  them  when  it  should  have  brought  out  their  best 
elements.  Well,  Mr.  Marshall,  what  say  you  ?  You  have 
been  modestly  silent,  and  we  have  been  rudely  voluble 
when  so  distinguished  a  guest  should  have  had  all  the 
floor." 


252  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  I  have  been  deeply  entertained,"  replied  Marshall,  with 
a  grin.  "  My  visit  to  New  York  is  by  no  means  wasted. 
I  envy  Mr.  Hamilton ;  but  let  him  look  out  for  Mr.  Burr. 
There  are  just  five  feet  seven  inches  of  jealous  hate  in  that 
well-balanced  exterior,  and  its  methods  would  be  sinuous, 
I  fancy,  but  no  less  deadly.  But  Hamilton  has  had  many 
escapes.  What  was  that  atrocious  story  I  heard  of  a  duel 
ling  cabal  ?  When  the  rolling  stone  of  gossip  reaches  Vir 
ginia  from  New  York,  it  has  gathered  more  moss  than  you 
would  think." 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  that  story,"  snorted 
Livingston.  "  Hamilton  defended  his  course  in  regard  to 
the  Tories  in  two  pamphlets,  signed  '  Phocion.'  The) 
were  answered  by  a  Mr.  Ledyard,  who  signed  himself 
'  Mentor,'  and  was  a  conspicuous  advocate  of  the  damna 
ble  spirit  of  revenge  possessing  this  country.  It  is  a  bold 
man  indeed  who  enters  into  a  conflict  of  the  pen  with 
Hamilton,  and  '  Mentor '  was  left  without  a  leg  to  stand 
on.  Forthwith,  a  club  of  Ledyard's  friends  and  sympa 
thizers,  enraged  by  defeat,  and  fearing  the  growing  ascen 
dency  of  Hamilton  over  men's  minds,  deliberately  agreed 
to  challenge  him  in  turn  until  he  was  silenced  forever. 
This  atrocious  project  would  undoubtedly  have  been  car 
ried  out,  had  not  Ledyard  himself  repudiated  it  with  horror. 
Can  you  show  me  a  greater  instance  of  the  depravity  of 
human  nature,  sir  ?  " 

"  We  are  in  a  ferment  of  bitter  passions,"  said  Marshall, 
sadly,  "  and  I  fear  they  will  be  worse  before  they  are  better. 
I  only  hope  that  Hamilton  will  not  be  swept  into  their  cur 
rent,  for  upon  his  keeping  his  balance  depends  the  future 
greatness  of  this  country.  I  am  at  your  service,  sir,  for  I 
will  confess  my  two  legs  are  tired." 

II 

As  the  three  men  turned  into  Broadway  they  saluted 
a  man  who  was  entering  Wall  Street.  It  was  Hamil 
ton,  hastening  home  to  his  family  after  the  day's  work 
He  had  lost  his  boyish  slenderness ;  his  figure  had  broad- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  253 

ened  and  filled  out  sufficiently  to  add  to  his  presence 
while  destroying  nothing  of  its  symmetry  or  agile  grace, 
and  it  was  dressed  with  the  same  care.  His  face  was 
as  gay  and  animated  as  ever,  responded  with  the  old 
mobility  to  every  passing  thought,  but  its  lines  and  con 
tours  snowed  the  hard  work  and  severe  thought  of  the  last 
four  years.  When  he  was  taking  a  brief  holiday  with  his 
friends,  or  tumbling  about  the  floor  with  his  little  brood, 
he  felt  as  much  a  boy  as  ever,  but  no  one  appreciated  more 
fully  than  he  the  terrible  responsibility  of  his  position  in 
the  Confederation.  His  abilities,  combined  with  his  patriot 
ism,  had  forced  him  to  the  head  of  the  Nationalist  Party, 
for  whose  existence  he  was  in  greatest  measure  responsi 
ble  ;  and  he  hardly  dared  to  think  of  his  personal  ambitions, 
nor  could  he  hesitate  to  neglect  his  lucrative  practice  when 
ever  the  crying  needs  of  the  country  demanded  it.  He 
had  also  given  much  time  to  the  creating  and  organization 
of  the  Bank  of  New  York.  But  Burr  was  not  far  wrong 
when  he  accused  him  of  impatience.  His  bearing  was 
more  imperious,  his  eye  flashed  more  intolerantly,  than  ever. 
To  impute  to  him  monarchical  ambitions  was  but  the  fling 
of  a  smarting  jealousy,  but  it  is  quite  true  that  he  felt  he 
knew  what  was  best  for  the  country,  and  would  have  liked 
to  regulate  its  affairs  without  further  hindrance. 

His  house,  beyond  the  dip  of  Wall  Street  and  within 
sight  of  the  bay,  was  of  red  brick,  and  as  unbeautiful  archi 
tecturally  as  other  New  York  houses  which  had  risen  at  ran 
dom  from  the  ruins.  But  within,  it  was  very  charming.  The 
long  drawing-room  was  furnished  with  mahogany,  and  rose- 
coloured  brocade,  with  spindle-legged  tables  and  many  bibe 
lots  sent  by  Angelica  Church,  now  living  in  London.  The 
library  was  filling  with  valuable  books,  and  the  panelled 
whiteness  of  the  dining  room  glittered  with  silver  and  glass, 
which  in  quantity  or  value  was  not  exceeded  in  the  home 
of  any  young  couple  in  America  ;  the  world  had  outdone 
itself  at  the  most  interesting  wedding  of  the  Revolution. 
Betsey's  sitting  room  was  behind  the  drawing-room,  and 
there  Hamilton  found  her  counting  the  moments  until  his 
return.  She  had  lost  nothing  of  her  slimness,  and  except 


254  THE   CONQUEROR 

on  dress  occasions  wore  her  mass  of  soft  black  hair  twisted 
in  a  loose  knot  and  unpowdered.  She  looked  younger  and 
prettier  than  with  powder  or  wig,  and  Hamilton  begged  her 
to  defy  the  fashion ;  but  yielding  in  all  else,  on  this  point 
she  was  inflexible.  "  I  am  wiser  than  you  in  just  a  few 
things,"  she  would  say,  playfully,  for  she  firmly  believed 
him  infallible;  "my  position  would  suffer,  were  I  thought 
eccentric.  You  cannot  stand  in  rank  without  a  uniform.  I 
shall  not  yield  to  Sarah  Jay  nor  even  Kitty  Duer.  I  am 
a  little  Republican,  sir,  and  know  my  rights.  And  I  know 
how  to  keep  them." 

To-day,  after  her  usual  prolonged  and  unmitigated  greet 
ing,  she  remarked  :  "  Speaking  of  eccentric  people,  I  met 
to-day,  at  Lady  Sterling's,  that  curious  person,  Mrs.  Croix, 
or  Miss  Capet,  as  some  will  call  her.  Her  hair  was  built 
up  quite  a  foot  and  unpowdered.  On  top  of  it  was  an 
immense  black  hat  with  plumes,  and  her  velvet  gown  was 
at  least  three  yards  on  the  floor.  She  certainly  is  the  hand 
somest  creature  in  town,  but,  considering  all  the  gossip,  I 
think  it  odd  Lady  Sterling  should  take  her  up,  and  I  believe 
that  Kitty  is  quite  annoyed.  But  Lady  Sterling  is  so  good- 
natured,  and  I  am  told  that  Dr.  Franklin  went  personally 
and  asked  her  to  give  this  lady  countenance.  He  calls  her 
his  Fairy  Queen,  and  to-day  saluted  her  on  the  lips  before 
all  of  us.  Poor  dear  Dr.  Franklin  is  by  now  quite  in  the 
class  with  Caesar's  wife,  but  still  I  think  his  conduct  rather 
remarkable." 

"  Who  is  this  woman  ?  "  asked  Hamilton,  indifferently. 

"Well!"  exclaimed  his  wife,  with  a  certain  satisfaction, 
"  you  are  busy.  She  has  been  the  talk  of  the  town  for 
quite  three  months,  although  she  never  went  anyivkere 
before  to-day." 

"  I  hear  all  my  gossip  from  you,"  said  Hamilton,  smiling 
from  the  hearth  rug,  "  and  considering  the  labours  of  the 
past  three  months  —  but  tell  me  about  her.  I  believe  I 
love  you  best  when  gossiping.  Your  effort  to  be  caustic 
is  the  sweetest  thing  in  the  world." 

She  threw  a  ball  of  wool  at  him,  which  he  caught  and 
pulled  apart,  then  showered  on  her  head.  It  was  yellow 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  255 

wool,  and  vastly  becoming  on  her  black  hair.  "  You  must 
have  a  yellow  hat  at  once,  with  plumes,"  he  said,  "but  go 
on." 

"  You  shall  wind  that  this  evening,  sir.  Well,  she  came 
here  about  three  months  ago  with  Captain  Croix  of  the 
British  army,  and  rumour  hath  it  that  he  left  a  wife  in 
England,  and  that  this  lady's  right  to  the  royal  name  of 
Capet  is  still  unchallenged.  The  story  goes  that  she  was 
born  about  eighteen  years  ago,  on  a  French  frigate  bound 
for  the  West  Indies,  that  her  mother  died,  and  that,  there 
being  no  one  else  of  that  royal  name  on  board,  the  Captain 
adopted  her  ;  but  that  a  baby  and  a  ship  being  more  than 
he  could  manage,  he  presented  the  baby  to  a  humble  friend 
at  Newport,  by  the  name  of  Thompson,  who  brought  her 
up  virtuously,  but  without  eradicating  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
and  one  fine  day  she  disappeared  with  Colonel  Croix,  and 
after  a  honeymoon  which  may  have  been  spent  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  any  church  between  here  and  Rhode 
Island,  or  of  none,  they  arrived  in  New  York,  and  took 
the  finest  lodgings  in  town.  I  suppose  Dr.  Franklin  was 
a  friend  of  her  humble  guardian,  he  is  so  philanthropic, 
and  that  he  is  willing  to  take  my  lady's  word  that  all  is 
well  —  and  perhaps  it  is.  I  feel  myself  quite  vicious  in 
repeating  the  vaguest  sort  of  gossip  —  active,  though. 
Who  knows,  if  she  had  worn  a  wig,  or  an  inch  of  powder, 
and  employed  the  accepted  architect  for  her  tower,  she 
would  have  passed  without  question  ?  Another  pillar  for 
my  argument,  sir." 

"  As  it  is,  you  are  even  willing  to  believe  that  she  is  a 
daughter  of  the  house  of  France,"  said  Hamilton,  with  a 
hearty  laugh.  "  Would  that  the  world  were  as  easily  per 
suaded  of  what  is  good  for  it  as  of  what  tickles  its  pettiness. 
Shall  you  ask  this  daughter  of  the  Capets  to  the  house  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  made  up  my  mind,"  said  Mrs.  Hamilton, 
demurely. 

The  two  older  children,  Philip  and  Angelica,  came  tum 
bling  into  the  room,  and  Hamilton  romped  with  them  for  a 
half-hour,  then  flung  them  upon  their  mother,  and  watched 
them  from  the  heartn  rug.  Betsey  was  lovely  with  her 


256  THE   CONQUEROR 

children,  who  were  beautiful  little  creatures,  and  Hamilton 
was  always  arranging  them  in  groups.  The  boy  and  girl 
pulled  down  her  hair  with  the  yellow  wool,  until  all  her 
diminutive  ngure  and  all  her  face,  but  its  roguish  black 
eyes,  were  extinguished  ;  and  Hamilton  forgot  the  country. 
Elizabeth  Schuyler  was  a  cleverer  woman  than  her  meed 
of  credit  has  led  the  world  to  believe.  She  understood 
Hamilton  very  well  even  then,  although,  as  his  faults  but 
added  to  his  fascination  in  the  eyes  of  those  that  loved  him, 
the  knowledge  did  not  detract  from  her  happiness.  In 
many  ways  she  made  herself  necessary  to  him ;  at  that 
time  she  even  kept  his  papers  in  order.  He  talked  to  her 
freely  on  every  subject  that  interested  him,  from  human 
nature  to  finance,  taxes,  and  the  law,  and  she  never  per 
mitted  a  yawn  to  threaten.  He  read  aloud  to  her  every 
line  he  wrote,  and  while  she  would  not  have  presumed  to 
suggest,  her  sympathy  was  one  of  his  imperative  needs. 
When  his  erratic  fancy  flashed  him  into  seductive  meshes, 
she  pulled  a  string  and  back  he  came.  Perhaps  this  is  the 
reason  why  no  specific  account  of  his  numerous  alleged 
amours  have  come  down  to  us.  He  is  vaguely  accused 
of  being  the  Lothario  of  his  time,  irresistible  and  indefati 
gable  ; "  but  of  all  famous  men  whose  names  are  enlivened 
with  anecdotes  of  gallantry  in  the  vast  bulk  of  the  world's 
unwritten  history,  he  alone  is  the  hero  of  much  mysterious 
affirmation  but  of  no  particular  romance.  The  Reynolds 
affair  is  open  history  and  not  a  case  in  point.  It  is  prob 
able  that,  owing  to  inherent  fickleness  and  Betsey's  gentle 
manipulation,  his  affairs  rarely  lasted  long  enough  to  at 
tract  attention.  It  is  one  of  the  accidents  of  life  that  the 
world  barely  knew  of  his  acquaintance  with  Eliza  Croix, 
she  who  has  come  down  to  us  as  Madame  Jumel ;  and  such 
a  thing  could  not  happen  twice.  But  whether  or  not  he 
possessed  in  all  their  perfection  the  proclivities  of  so  great 
and  impetuous  and  passionate  a  genius,  it  is  certain  that 
he  loved  his  wife  devotedly,  and  above  all  other  women, 
so  long  as  his  being  held  together.  His  home  was  always 
his  Mecca,  and  he  left  it  only  when  public  duty  compelled 
his  presence  in  exile. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  257 

III 

In  February  he  went  to  the  Assembly  to  fight  Clinton's 
opposition  to  the  harassing  need  of  conferring  a  permanent 
revenue  upon  Congress.  He  had  already  written  a  memo 
rial,  distributed  over  the  State,  setting  forth  the  danger 
ous  position  of  the  country.  But  Clinton  was  lord  of  the 
masses,  and  their  representatives  in  the  Legislature  had 
been  trained  to  think  as  he  thought.  They  honoured  him 
because  he  had  made  New  York  the  greatest  State  in  the 
Union,  not  yet  realizing  that  he  had  brought  her  into  dis 
repute  at  home  and  abroad,  and  that  his  selfish  policy  was 
now  hastening  her  to  her  ruin.  To  increase  the  power  of 
Congress  was  to  encourage  the  spirit  of  Nationalism,  and 
that  meant  the  sure  decline  of  the  States  and  of  himself. 
The  fight  was  hot  and  bitter.  Clinton  won ;  but  the  think 
ing  men  present  took  Hamilton's  words  home  and  pon 
dered  upon  them,  and  in  time  they  bore  fruit. 

After  many  delays  the  Convention  was  summoned  to 
meet  at  Philadelphia  on  the  I4th  of  May.  History  calls 
it  the  Constitutional  Convention,  but  its  promoters  were 
careful  to  give  the  States-right  people  no  such  guide  to 
contravention.  The  violent  oppositionists  of  all  change 
slumbered  peacefully,  while  the  representatives  of  the  more 
enlightened  were  appointed  to  the  Convention  under  mod 
erately  worded  and  somewhat  vague  resolutions  ;  and  some 
of  them  went  as  vaguely.  Congress,  after  a  characteristic 
and  selfish  hesitation,  and  a  thorough  fright  induced  by  the 
Massachusetts  rebellion,  was  finally  persuaded  to  give  her 
official  sanction  to  the  proposed  Convention.  Hamilton 
secured  his  appointment  as  a  delegate,  —  after  a  hard  fight 
to  have  New  York  represented  at  all, — and  found  himself 
saddled  with  two  Clintonians,  Robert  Yates  and  John 
Lansing,  Jr.  But  the  first  great  step  for  which  he  had 
struggled,  since  his  Morristown  letter  to  the  Financier  of 
the  Revolution  seven  years  before,  was  assured  at  last. 

Shortly  before  the  Convention  opened,  Gouverneur  Mor 
ris  and  James  Madison,  Jr.  met  by  appointment  at  Ham 
ilton's  house  to  discuss  the  plan  of  campaign  and  make 


258  THE   CONQUEROR 

sure  of  their  leader's  wishes.  General  Schuyler  and 
Robert  Troup  were  also  present. 

Morris  was  a  delegate  from  Pennsylvania,  but  was  about 
to  return  to  New  York,  having  bought  the  family  estate  at 
Morrisania  from  his  brother,  Staats  Long  Morris,  and  was 
involved  in  business  enterprises  which  resulted  in  a  large 
fortune.  He  awaited  the  settlement  of  the  country's  affairs 
before  sailing  for  Europe  in  his  private  interests.  Troup, 
now  a  successful  lawyer  at  the  New  York  bar,  was  an 
able  politician  and  devoted  to  Hamilton's  interests.  Philip 
Schuyler  was  entirely  in  his  son-in-law's  confidence,  work 
ing  for  and  with  him  always,  occupying  the  double  position 
of  adviser  and  follower.  Madison,  who  had  forced  the 
Convention  at  Annapolis,  had  had  his  breath  taken  away 
by  Hamilton's  coup,  but  now  was  delighted  that  he  had 
been  the  instrument  which  made  it  possible.  He  had  com 
posed  his  somewhat  halting  mind  to  the  determination  to 
concentrate  his  energies  upon  wringing  from  the  Conven 
tion  a  national  scheme  of  government  after  Hamilton's 
model,  provided  that  model  were  not  too  extreme  :  he  was 
no  monarchist,  and  knew  the  people  very  thoroughly. 
But  he  was  deeply  anxious  to  have  Hamilton's  views  and 
plans  for  his  guidance,  even  if  modification  were  necessary. 
He  knew  Hamilton's  complete  mastery  of  the  science  of 
government,  and  that  his  broad  structure  was  bound  to  be 
right,  no  matter  what  its  frills. 

The  company  assembled  in  the  library,  whose  open  win 
dows  overhung  a  garden  full  of  lilacs,  dogwood,  and  maples. 
There  was  a  long  table  in  the  room,  about  which  the  guests 
mechanically  seated  themselves,  so  accustomed  were  they 
to  the  council  table.  Hamilton  had  greeted  them  in  the 
hall,  and  sent  them  on  to  the  library,  while  he  went  to 
fetch  some  papers  his  wife  had  promised  to  copy  for  him. 

"  So  this  is  the  room  in  which  the  government  of  the 
United  States  is  to  be  born,"  said  Troup,  glancing  about 
at  the  familiar  books  and  at  the  desk  stuffed  with  papers. 
"  I  shall  always  smell  lilacs  in  the  new  Constitution." 

"  If  we  get  one,"  observed  Morris.  "  '  Conceive  '  would 
be  a  better  word  than  'born.'  Twelve  states,  —  for  my  part 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  259 

I  am  glad  the  refusal  of  Rhode  Island  to  send  delegates 
makes  one  less,  —  each  wanting  its  own  way,  and  the  North 
inevitably  pitted  against  the  South  :  I  confess  that  '  still 
born  '  strikes  me  as  a  better  word  than  any." 

"  We'll  have  a  Constitution,"  said  Madison,  doggedly, 
"  I've  made  up  my  mind  to  that.  There  are  a  sufficient 
number  of  able  and  public-spirited  men  on  their  way  to 
Philadelphia  to  agree  upon  a  wise  scheme  of  government 
and  force  it  through — besides  Hamilton  and  ourselves 
there  are  Washington,  Governor  Randolph,  William  Liv 
ingston,  Rufus  King,  Roger  Sherman,  Dr.  Franklin,  James 
Wilson,  George  Wythe,  the  Pinckneys,  Hugh  Williamson  — 
to  mention  but  a  few." 

"They  are  not  a  bad  lot,"  admitted  Morris,  "if  they 
had  all  seen  more  of  the  world  and  less  of  their  native  or 
adopted  State  —  all  this  State  patriotism  makes  me  sick. 
Half  were  not  born  in  the  State  they  vociferate  about,  are 
not  certain  of  ending  their  days  in  it,  nor  of  which  their 
children  may  adopt  as  intemperately." 

"Travel  is  not  the  only  cure  for  provincialism,"  said 
General  Schuyler.  "  Dr.  Franklin,  I  happen  to  know,  is 
bent  upon  a  form  of  government  little  firmer  than  the  one 
now  existing;  and  Hamilton,  whose  travels  are  limited  to 
campaigning  in  the  different  States,  has  a  comprehensive 
grasp  of  European  political  machinery,  and  the  breadth  of 
vision  such  knowledge  involves,  which  could  gain  nothing 
by  personal  contact." 

"  Dr.  Franklin  was  too  long  a  mendicant  at  foreign 
courts  not  to  be  besottedly  in  love  with  their  antithesis, 
and  Hamilton  has  a  brain  power  and  an  intellectual  grasp 
which  quite  remove  him  from  the  odiums  of  comparison," 
said  Morris.  "  I  think  myself  he  is  fortunate  in  never 
having  visited  Europe,  deeply  as  he  may  regret  it ;  for  with 
his  faculty  of  divination  he  goes  straight  for  what  is  best 
only  —  or  most  essential.  Had  he  lived  there,  the  details 
and  disappointments  might  have  blocked  his  vision  and 
upset  the  fine  balance  of  his  mind.  There  she  is  !  " 

He  was  at  the  window  as  quickly  as  he  could  have  flung 
a  book  to  the  lilacs,  despite  his  wooden  leg ;  and  he  was 


j6o  THE   CONQUEROR 

followed   by   Troup   and   General    Schuyler,    demanding 
"  Who  ? " 

"Mrs.  Croix  —  there.  Did  anything  so  lovely  ever 
dawn  upon  a  distracted  American's  vision  ?  'Tis  said  she 
is  an  unregistered  daughter  of  the  house  of  Capet,  and  I 
vow  she  looks  every  inch  a  princess.  I  stared  at  her  so 
long  last  night  in  Vauxhall  that  she  was  embarrassed  ;  and 
I  never  saw  such  poise,  such  royal  command  of  homage. 
How  has  she  developed  it  at  the  age  of  eighteen  ?  I  half 
believe  this  tale  of  royal  birth ;  although  there  are  those 
who  assert  that  she  is  nothing  less  than  the  daughter  of 
our  highest  in  honour." 

"  'Tis  said  that  she  had  an  opportunity  to  acquire  her 
aplomb  in  the  village  of  Rutland,  Massachusetts,  where  for 
some  years  she  enlivened  the  exile  and  soothed  the  domestic 
yearnings  of  many  British  officers,"  said  Troup.  "  One 
told  me  that  he  would  vow  she  was  none  other  than  the 
famous  vagrant  '  Betsey.'  ' 

"  But  I  am  told  that  she  comes  of  a  respectable  Rhode 
Island  family  named  Bowen,"  observed  General  Schuyler, 
who  was  not  romantic.  "  That  she  was  wayward  and  ran 
off  with  Colonel  Croix,  of  whose  other  wife  there  is  no 
proof,  but  that  none  of  these  fancy  stories  are  true." 

"Then  wherein  lies  her  claim  to  the  name  of  Capet?" 
demanded  Morris.  "  'Twould  be  nothing  remarkable  were 
she  a  daughter  of  Louis  V.,  and  I'm  told  she  signs  her 
name  Eliza  Capet  Croix." 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Schuyler,  meekly.  "'Tis  easy 
enough  to  assume  a  name,  if  you  have  it  not.  I  am  told 
that  Lady  Sterling  is  assured  of  her  respectability.  She 
certainly  shines  upon  us  like  a  star  at  this  moment.  I  did 
not  know  that  women  had  such  hair." 

"  Is  this  what  we  came  here  to  discuss  ? "  asked  a  voice, 
dropped  to  the  register  of  profound  contempt.  They 
turned  about  with  a  laugh  and  faced  Madison's  ascetic 
countenance,  pale  with  disgust.  "  We  have  the  most  im 
portant  work  to  do  for  which  men  ever  met  together,  and 
we  stand  at  the  window  and  talk  scandal  about  a  silly 
woman  and  her  hair." 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  261 

"You  did  not,  my  dear  James,"  said  Morris,  lightly; 
"and  thereby  you  have  missed  the  truly  divine  stimulus 
for  the  day's  work.  Don't  you  realize,  my  friend,  that  no 
matter  how  hard  a  man  may  labour,  some  woman  is  always 
in  the  background  of  his  mind  ?  She  is  the  one  reward  of 
virtue." 

"  I  know  nothing  of  the  sort,"  replied  Madison,  con 
temptuously.  "  I  can  flatter  myself  that  I  at  least  am 
independent  of  what  appears  to  men  like  you  to  be  the 
only  motive  for  living." 

"  Right,  my  boy,  but  great  as  you  are,  you  don't  know 
what  you  might  have  been." 

The  door  opened,  and  Hamilton  entered  the  room,  his 
hands  full  of  papers,  his  face  as  gay  and  eager  as  if  he 
were  about  to  read  to  his  audience  a  poem  or  a  lively  tale. 
Perhaps  one  secret  of  his  ascendency  over  those  who 
knew  him  best  was  that  he  never  appeared  to  take  himself 
seriously,  even  when  his  whole  being  radiated  power  and 
imperious  determination.  When  he  descended  to  the 
depths  of  seriousness  and  his  individuality  was  most  over 
whelming,  his  unsleeping  sense  of  humour  saved  him  from 
a  hint  of  the  demagogue. 

"  While  my  wife  was  finishing,  I  heard  you  gossiping 
from  the  window  above,"  he  said,  "but  I  had  by  far  the 
best  view.  The  lilac  bushes  —  " 

"  Do  you  know  her?"  asked  Morris,  eagerly. 

"Alas,  I  do  not.  It  is  incalculable  months  since  I  have 
had  time  to  look  so  long  at  a  woman.  What  is  the  matter, 
Madison  ?  " 

"  I  am  nauseated.     I  had  thought  thatj-w/  — 

Here  even  General  Schuyler  laughed,  and  Hamilton 
hurriedly  arranged  his  papers. 

He  sat  down  when  he  began  to  talk,  but  was  quickly  on 
his  feet  and  shaking  his  papers  over  the  table.  To  him, 
also,  the  council  table  was  the  most  familiar  article  of 
furniture  in  his  world,  but  he  was  usually  addressing  those 
it  stood  for,  and  he  was  too  ardent  a  speaker,  even  when 
without  the  incentive  of  debate,  to  keep  to  his  chair. 

"  I  know  what  you  are  wondering,"  he  said.     "  No,  it  is 


26z  THE   CONQUEROR 

not  the  British  Constitution.  What  I  have  done  so  dis 
tempered  as  to  impress  people  with  the  belief  that  I  am 
blind  to  the  spirit  of  this  country,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture. 
The  British  Constitution  is  the  best  form  which  the  world 
has  yet  produced ;  in  the  words  of  Necker,  it  is  the  only 
government  '  which  unites  public  strength  with  individual 
security.'  Nevertheless,  no  one  is  more  fully  convinced 
than  I  that  none  but  a  republican  government  can  be 
attempted  in  this  country,  or  would  be  adapted  to  our 
situation.  Therefore,  I  propose  to  look  to  the  British  Con 
stitution  for  nothing  but  those  elements  of  stability  and 
permanency  which  a  republican  system  requires,  and  which 
may  be  incorporated  into  it  without  changing  its  character 
istic  principles.  There  never  has  been,  and  there  never 
will  be,  anything  in  my  acts  or  principles  inconsistent  with 
the  spirit  of  republican  liberty.  Whatever  my  private  pre 
dilections,  it  would  be  impossible  for  me,  understanding 
the  people  of  this  country  as  I  do,  to  fail  to  recognize  the 
authority  of  that  people  as  the  source  of  all  political  power. 
Therefore  you  will  find  many  departures  from  the  British 
Constitution  in  the  rough  draft  I  am  about  to  read.  I  have 
neither  the  patience  nor  the  temper  to  dogmatize  upon 
abstract  theories  of  liberty,  and  our  success  will  lie  in 
adapting  to  our  particular  needs  such  principles  of  gov 
ernment  as  have  been  tried  and  not  found  wanting,  our 
failure  in  visionary  experiments.  The  best  and  wisest 
effort  we  can  make  will  be  a  sufficient  experiment,  for 
whose  result  we  must  all  tremble. 

"  It  is  going  to  be  difficult  to  persuade  this  Convention 
to  unite  upon  any  constitution  very  much  stronger  than 
the  one  Dr.  Franklin  will  propose,  or  to  accomplish  its 
ratification  afterward.  Nevertheless,  I  have  prepared  a 
draft  of  the  strongest  constitution  short  of  monarchy  which 
it  is  possible  to  conceive,  and  which  I  shall  propose  to  the 
Convention  for  reasons  I  will  explain  after  I  have  read  it  to 
you.  Do  you  care  to  listen  ?  " 

"  Hurry  up  !  "  exclaimed  Morris.  The  audience  leaned 
forward.  Madison  shook  his  head  all  through  the  read 
ing  ;  Morris  jerked  his  with  emphatic  approval. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  263 

The  radical  points  in  which  Hamilton's  constitution  dif 
fered  from  that  under  which  we  live,  was  in  the  demand 
for  a  President,  to  be  elected  by  property  holders,  and  who 
should  hold  office  during  good  behaviour ;  senators  pos 
sessing  certain  property  qualifications  and  elected  on  the 
same  principle;  and  governors  of  States  appointed  and 
removable  by  the  President.  Practically  the  author  of  the 
dual  government,  he  believed  emphatically  in  subserving 
the  lesser  to  the  greater,  although  endowing  the  States 
with  sufficient  power  for  self-protection.  The  Executive 
was  to  be  held  personally  responsible  for  official  miscon 
duct,  both  he  and  the  senators  subject  to  impeachment  and 
to  removal  from  office.  The  whole  scheme  was  wrought 
out  with  the  mathematical  complexity  and  precision  char 
acteristic  of  Hamilton's  mind. 

"  Would  that  it  were  possible,"  exclaimed  Morris,  when 
Hamilton  had  finished.  "  But  as  well  expect  the  Almighty  to 
drive  the  quill.  You  will  weaken  your  influence,  Hamilton, 
and  to  no  effect." 

"  Ah,  but  I  have  calculated  upon  two  distinct  points,  and 
I  believe  I  shall  achieve  them.  I  have  not  the  most  dis 
tant  hope  that  this  paper  will  be  acceptable  to  five  men  in 
the  Convention,  —  three,  perhaps,  would  round  the  number, 
—  Washington,  yourself,  myself.  Nevertheless,  I  shall 
introduce  it  and  speak  in  its  favour  with  all  the  passion  of 
which  I  am  master,  for  these  reasons  :  I  believe  in  it ; 
its  energy  is  bound  to  give  a  tone  that  might  be  lacking 
otherwise;  and  —  this  is  the  principal  point  —  there  must 
be  something'  to  work  back  from.  If  I  alarm  with  the  mere 
chance  of  so  perilous  a  menace  to  their  democratic  ideals, 
they  will  go  to  work  in  earnest  at  something  in  order  to 
defeat  me,  and  they  will  not  go  back  so  far  in  the  line  of 
vigour  as  if  I  had  suggested  a  more  moderate  plan  ;  for, 
mark  my  words,  they  would  infallibly  incline  to  weaker 
measures  than  any  firm  government  which  should  first  be 
proposed.  In  the  management  of  men  one  of  the  most 
important  things  to  bear  in  mind  is  their  proneness  to  work 
forward  from  the  weak,  and  backward  from  the  strong. 
On  the  quality  of  the  strength  depends  its  magnetism  over 


264  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  weak.  All  reformers  are  ridiculed  or  outlawed,  and 
their  measures  are  never  wholly  successful ;  but  they  awaken 
men's  minds  to  something  of  approximate  worth,  and  to 
a  desire  for  a  divorce  from  the  old  order  of  things.  So, 
while  I  expect  to  be  called  a  monarchist,  I  hope  to  instil 
subtly  the  idea  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  strong  gov 
ernment,  and  implant  in  their  minds  a  distrust  of  one  too 
weak." 

"  Good,"  said  Morris.  "  And  it  is  always  a  delight  to 
see  your  revelation  of  yourself  in  a  new  light.  I  perceive 
that  to  your  other  accomplishments  you  add  the  cunning 
of  the  fox." 

"  You  are  right  to  call  it  an  accomplishment,"  retorted 
Hamilton.  "  We  cannot  go  through  life  successfully  with 
the  bare  gifts  of  the  Almighty,  generous  though  He  may 
have  been.  If  I  find  that  I  have  need  of  cunning,  or  bru 
tality,  —  than  which  nothing  is  farther  from  my  nature,  — 
or  even  nagging,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  borrow  and  use 
them." 

"  Let  us  call  this  sagacity,"  said  Troup.  "  'Tis  a  prettier 
word.  Or  the  canniness  of  the  Scot.  But  there  is  one 
thing  I  fear,"  he  added  anxiously.  "You  may  injure  your 
chances  of  future  preferment.  Your  ambition  will  be 
thought  too  vaulting,  particularly  for  so  young  a  man,  and, 
besides,  you  may  be  thought  a  menace  to  the  common 
wealth." 

"That  is  a  point  to  be  considered,  Hamilton,"  said 
General  Schuyler. 

"  I  have  an  end  to  gain,  sir,  and  I  mean  to  gain  it. 
Moreover,  this  is  no  time  to  be  considering  private  inter 
ests.  If  this  be  not  the  day  for  patriotism  to  stifle  every 
personal  ambition,  then  there  is  little  hope  for  human  nature. 
I  believe  the  result  of  this  paper  will  be  a  constitution  of 
respectable  strength,  and  I  shall  use  all  the  influence  I 
wield  to  make  the  people  accept  it.  So,  if  you  worry, 
consider  if  the  later  effort  will  not  outweigh  the  first." 

"  Hamilton,"  said  Madison,  solemnly,  "you  are  a  greater 
man  even  than  I  thought  you.  You  have  given  me  a  most 
welcome  hint,  and  I  shall  take  upon  myself  to  engineer 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  265 

the  recession  from  your  constitution.  I  shall  study  its 
effect  with  the  closest  attention  and  be  guided  accordingly. 
I  am  heart  and  soul  in  this  matter,  and  would  give  my  life 
to  it  if  necessary.  I  never  should  have  thought  of  any 
thing  so  astute,"  he  added,  with  some  envy,  "but  perhaps 
if  I  had,  no  one  else  would  be  so  peculiarly  fitted  as  myself 
to  work  upon  its  manifold  suggestions.  I  hope  I  do  not 
strike  you  as  conceited,"  he  said,  looking  around  anxiously, 
"  but  I  feel  that  it  is  in  me  to  render  efficient  service  in  the 
present  crisis." 

Before  Morris  could  launch  his  ready  fling,  Hamilton 
hastened  to  assure  Madison  of  his  belief  that  no  man  liv 
ing  could  render  services  so  great.  He  underrated  neither 
Madison's  great  abilities  nor  the  danger  of  rankling  arrows 
in  that  sensitive  and  not  too  courageous  spirit.  They  then 
discussed  a  general  plan  of  campaign  and  the  best  methods 
of  managing  certain  members  of  the  Convention.  Morris 
was  the  first  to  rise. 

"  Adieu,"  he  said.  "  I  go  to  ruminate  upon  our  Cap 
tain's  diplomacy,  and  to  pursue  the  ankle  of  Mrs.  Croix. 
Be  sure  that  the  one  will  not  interfere  with  the  other,  but 
will  mutually  stimulate." 

The  other  gentlemen  adjourned  to  the  dining  room. 


IV 

The  story  of  the  Convention  has  been  told  so  often  that 
only  the  merest  outline  is  necessary  here;  those  who  have 
not  before  this  read  at  least  one  of  the  numberless  reports, 
would  be  the  last  to  wish  its  multigenerous  details.  To  the 
students  of  history  there  is  nothing  new  to  tell,  as  may  be 
the  case  with  less  exploited  incidents  of  Hamilton's  career. 
Someone  has  said  that  it  was  an  assemblage  of  hostile 
camps,  and  it  certainly  was  the  scene  of  intense  and  bitter 
struggles,  of  a  heterogeneous  mass  blindly  striving  to  co 
here,  whilst  a  thousand  sectional  interests  tugged  at  the 
more  familiar  of  the  dual  ideal ;  of  compromise  after  com 
promise;  of  a  fear  pervading  at  least  one-half  that  the 


266  THE   CONQUEROR 

liberties  of  republicanism  were  menaced  by  every  energetic 
suggestion  ;  of  the  soundest  judgement  and  patriotism  com 
pelled  to  truckle  to  meaner  sentiments  lest  they  get  nothing; 
af  the  picked  men  of  the  Confederacy,  honourable,  loyal, 
able,  and  enlightened,  animated  in  the  first  and  last  instance 
by  a  pure  and  common  desire  for  the  highest  welfare  of 
the  country,  driven  to  war  upon  one  another  by  the  strength 
of  their  conflicting  opinions;  ending  —  among  the  thirty- 
nine  out  of  the  sixty-one  delegates  who  signed  the  Constitu 
tion  —  in  a  feeling  as  closely  resembling  general  satisfaction 
as  individual  disappointments  would  permit. 

At  first  so  turbulent  were  the  conditions,  that  Franklin, 
who  troubled  the  Almighty  but  little  himself,  arose  and 
suggested  that  the  meetings  be  opened  with  prayer.  After 
this  sarcasm,  and  the  submission  of  his  mild  compromise 
with  the  Confederation,  he  sat  and  watched  the  painted 
sun  behind  Washington's  chair,  pensively  wondering  if  the 
artist  had  intended  to  convey  the  idea  of  a  rise  or  a  setting. 
Hamilton  presented  his  draft  at  the  right  moment,  and  the 
startled  impression  it  made  quite  satisfied  him,  particularly 
as  his  long  speech  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  was  re 
ceived  with  the  closest  attention.  Nothing  could  alter  his 
personal  fascination,  and  even  his  bitterest  enemies  rarely 
left  their  chairs  while  he  spoke.  The  small  figure,  so  full 
of  dignity  and  magnetizing  power  that  it  excluded  every 
other  object  from  their  vision,  the  massive  head  with  a 
piercing  force  in  every  line  of  its  features,  the  dark  eyes 
blazing  and  flashing  with  a  fire  that  never  had  been  seen 
in  the  eyes  of  a  mere  mortal  before,  the  graceful  rapid  ges 
tures,  and  the  passionate  eloquence  which  never  in  its  most 
apparently  abandoned  moments  failed  to  be  sincere  and 
logical,  made  him  for  the  hour  the  glory  of  friend  and 
enemy  alike,  although  the  reaction  was  correspondingly 
bitter.  Upon  this  occasion  he  spoke  for  six  hours  without 
the  interruption  of  a  scraping  heel;  and  what  the  Conven 
tion  did  not  know  about  the  science  of  government  before 
he  finished  with  them,  they  never  would  learn  elsewhere. 
Although  he  made  but  this  one  speech,  he  talked  constantly 
to  the  groups  surrounding  him  wherever  he  moved.  To 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  267 

his  original  scheme  he  had  too  much  tact  to  make  further 
allusion  ;  but  his  general  opinions,  ardently  propounded,  his 
emphatic  reiteration  of  the  demoralized  country's  need  for 
a  national  government,  and  of  the  tyrannies  inherent  in 
unbridled  democracies,  wedged  in  many  a  chink.  Never 
theless,  he  was  disgusted  and  disheartened  when  he  left 
for  New  York,  at  the  end  of  May.  The  Convention  was 
chaos,  but  he  could  accomplish  nothing  more  than  what  he 
hoped  he  might  have  done  ;  the  matter  was  now  best  in  the 
hands  of  Madison  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  his  practice 
could  no  longer  be  neglected. 

But  although  he  returned  to  a  mass  of  work,  —  for  he 
handled  most  of  the  great  cases  of  the  time,  —  he  managed 
to  mingle  daily  with  the  crowd  at  Fraunces'  and  the  coffee 
houses,  in  order  to  gauge  the  public  sentiment  regarding 
the  proposed  change  of  government,  and  to  see  the  leading 
men  constantly.  On  the  whole,  he  wrote  to  Washington, 
he  found  that  both  in  the  Jerseys  and  in  New  York  there 
was  "  an  astonishing  revolution  for  the  better  in  the  minds 
of  the  people." 

Washington  replied  from  the  depths  of  his  disgust :  — 

...  In  a  word  I  almost  despair  of  seeing  a  favourable  issue  to  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention,  and  do,  therefore,  repent  having  any 
agency  in  the  business.  The  men  who  oppose  a  strong  and  energetic 
government  are,  in  my  opinion,  narrow-minded  politicians,  or  are  under 
the  influence  of  local  views.  The  apprehension  expressed  by  them  that 
the  people  will  not  accede  to  the  form  proposed,  is  the  ostensible,  not  the 
real  cause  of  the  opposition  ;  but  admitting  that  the  present  sentiment  is 
as  they  prognosticate,  the  question  ought  nevertheless  to  be,  is  it,  or  is 
it  not,  the  best  form?  If  the  former,  recommend  it,  and  it  will  assuredly 
obtain,  maugre  opposition.  I  am  sorry  you  went  away  ;  I  wish  you  were 
back. 

To  Washington,  who  presided  over  that  difficult  assem 
blage  with  a  superhuman  dignity,  to  Hamilton  who  breathed 
his  strong  soul  into  it,  to  Madison  who  manipulated  it,  to 
Gouverneur  Morris,  whose  sarcastic  eloquent  tongue  brought 
it  to  reason  again  and  again,  and  whose  accomplished  pen 
gave  the  Constitution  its  literary  form,  belong  the  highest 
honours  of  the  Convention  ;  although  the  services  rendered 
by  Roger  Sherman,  Rufus  King,  James  Wilson,  R.  R.  Liv- 


268  THE   CONQUEROR 

ingston,  and  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  entitle  them  to 
far  more  than  polite  mention. 

When  Hamilton  signed  the  Constitution,  on  the  i/th  of 
September,  it  was  by  no  means  strong  enough  to  suit  him, 
but  as  it  was  incomparably  better  than  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation,  which  had  carried  the  country  to  the  edge  of 
anarchy  and  ruin,  and  was  regarded  by  a  formidable  num 
ber  of  people  and  their  leaders  as  so  strong  as  to  be  a 
menace  to  the  liberties  of  the  American  citizen,  he  could 
with  consistency  and  ardour  exert  himself  to  secure  its  rati 
fication.  After  all,  it  was  built  of  his  stones,  chipped  and 
pared  though  they  might  be ;  had  he  not  gone  to  the  Con 
vention,  the  result  might  have  been  a  constitution  for  which 
his  pen  would  have  refused  to  plead. 

Manhattan  Island,  Kings  and  Westchester  counties  had 
long  since  accepted  his  doctrines,  and  they  stood  behind 
him  in  unbroken  ranks ;  but  the  northern  counties  and 
cities  of  New  York,  including  Albany,  were  still  under  the 
autocratic  sway  of  Clinton.  Hamilton's  colleagues,  Yates 
and  Lansing,  had  resigned  their  seats  in  the  Great.  Con 
vention.  Among  the  signatures  to  the  Constitution  his 
name  stood  alone  for  New  York,  and  the  fact  was  ominous 
of  his  lonely  and  precarious  position.  But  difficulties  were 
ever  his  stimulant,  and  this  was  not  the  hour  to  find  him 
lacking  in  resource. 

"  The  Constitution  terrifies  by  its  length,  complexity, 
frigidity,  and  above  all  by  its  novelty,"  he  said  to  Jay  and 
Madison,  who  met  by  appointment  in  his  library.  "  Clin 
ton,  in  this  State,  has  persuaded  his  followers  that  it  is  so 
many  iron  hoops,  in  which  they  would  groan  and  struggle 
for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  To  defeat  him  and  this  perni 
cious  idea,  we  must  discuss  the  Constitution  publicly,  in  the 
most  lucid  and  entertaining  manner  possible,  lay  every  fear, 
and  so  familiarize  the  people  with  its  merits,  and  with  the 
inseparable  relation  of  its  adoption  to  their  personal  inter 
ests,  that  by  the  time  the  elections  for  the  State  Convention 
take  place,  they  will  be  sufficiently  educated  to  give  us  the 
majority.  And  as  there  is  so  much  doubt,  even  among 
members  of  the  Convention,  as  to  the  mode  of  enacting  the 


« ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  269 

Constitution,  we  must  solve  that  problem  as  quickly  as 
possible.  My  purpose  is  to  publish  a  series  of  essays  in 
the  newspapers,  signed,  if  you  agree  with  me,  Publius,  and 
reaching  eighty  or  ninety  in  number,  which  shall  expound 
and  popularize  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  and 
if  you  will  give  me  your  inestimable  help,  I  am  sure  we 
shall  accomplish  our  purpose." 

"If  you  need  my  help,  I  will  give  it  to  you  to  the  best  of 
my  ability,  sir,"  said  Jay,  "but  I  do  not  pretend  to  compete 
with  your  absolute  mastery  of  the  complex  science  of  gov 
ernment,  and  I  fear  that  my  weaker  pen  may  somewhat 
counteract  the  vigour  of  yours ;  but,  I  repeat,  I  will  do  my 
best  with  the  time  at  my  disposal." 

Hamilton  Laughed.  "  You  know  how  anxious  I  am  to 
injure  our  chances  of  success,"  he  said.  "I  hope  all  things 
from  your  pen." 

Jay  bowed  formally,  and  Hamilton  turned  to  Madison. 
"  I  know  you  must  feel  that  you  have  done  your  share  for 
the  present,"  he  said,  "and  there  is  hard  work  awaiting 
you  in  your  State  Convention,  but  the  subject  is  at  your 
finger  tips ;  it  hardly  can  be  too  much  trouble." 

"  I  am  not  very  well,"  said  Madison,  peevishly,  "  but  I 
realize  the  necessity,  —  and  that  the  papers  should  be  read 
as  extensively  in  Virginia  as  here.  I  will  write  a  few,  and 
more  if  I  can." 

But,  as  it  came  to  pass,  Madison  wrote  but  fourteen  sepa 
rate  papers  of  the  eighty-five,  although  he  collaborated 
with  Hamilton  on  three  others,  and  Jay  wrote  five  only. 
The  remaining  sixty-three,  therefore,  of  the  essays,  col 
lected  during  and  after  their  publication  under  the  title  of 
"The  Federalist,"  which  not  only  did  so  much  to  enlighten 
and  educate  the  public  mind  and  weaken  the  influence  of 
such  men  as  Clinton,  but  which  still  stand  as  the  ablest  ex 
position  of  the  science  of  government,  and  as  the  parent 
of  American  constitutional  law,  were  the  work  of  Hamilton. 

"  It  is  the  fortunate  situation  of  our  country,"  said 
Hamilton,  a  few  months  later,  at  Poughkeepsie,  "  that  the 
minds  of  the  people  are  exceedingly  enlightened  and  re 
fined."  Certainly  these  papers  are  a  great  tribute  to  the 


270  THE   CONQUEROR 

general  intelligence  of  the  American  race  of  a  century  and 
more  ago.  Selfish,  petty,  and  lacking  in  political  know 
ledge  they  may  have  been,  but  it  is  evident  that  their  men 
tal  tone  was  high,  that  their  minds  had  not  been  vulgarized 
by  trash  and  sensationalism.  Hamilton's  sole  bait  was  a 
lucid  and  engaging  style,  which  would  not  puzzle  the  com 
monest  intelligence,  which  he  hoped  might  instruct  without 
weighing  heavily  on  the  capacity  of  his  humbler  readers. 
That  he  was  addressing  the  general  voter,  as  well  as  the 
men  of  a  higher  grade  as  yet  unconvinced,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  for  as  New  York  State  was  still  seven-tenths  Clin- 
tonian,  conversion  of  a  large  portion  of  this  scowling  ele 
ment  was  essential  to  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution. 
And  yet  he  chose  two  men  of  austere  and  unimaginative 
style  to  collaborate  with  him ;  while  his  own  style  for 
purity,  distinction,  and  profundity  combined  with  simplic 
ity,  has  never  been  excelled. 

Betsey  was  ailing,  and  her  doors  closed  to  society ;  the 
children  romped  on  the  third  floor  or  on  the  Battery. 
Hamilton  wrote  chiefly  at  night,  his  practice  occupying 
the  best  of  the  hours  of  day,  but  he  was  sensible  of  the 
calm  of  his  home  and  of  its  incentive  to  literary  composi 
tion  ;  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  open  his  office  in  the 
evening.  Betsey,  the  while  she  knitted  socks,  listened 
patiently  to  her  brilliant  husband's  luminous  discussions 
on  the  new  Constitution  —  which  she  could  have  recited 
backward  —  and  his  profound  interpretation  of  its  prin 
ciples  and  provisions.  If  she  worried  over  these  continu 
ous  labours  she  made  no  sign,  for  Hamilton  was  racing 
Clinton,  and  there  was  not  a  moment  to  lose.  Clinton  won 
in  the  first  heat.  After  a  desperate  struggle  in  the  State 
Legislature  the  Hamiltonians  succeeded  in  passing  resolu 
tions  ordering  a  State  Convention  to  be  elected  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  Constitution ;  but  the  result  in 
April  proved  the  unabated  power  and  industry  of  Clinton, 
—  the  first,  and  not  the  meanest  of  New  York's  political 
"  bosses,"  -  —  for  two-thirds  of  the  men  selected  were  his  fol 
lowers.  The  Convention  was  called  for  the  i/th  of  June 
and  it  was  rumoured  that  the  Clintonians  intended  immedi- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  27! 

ately  to  move  an  adjournment  until  the  following  year.  Ac 
cording  to  an  act  of  Congress  the  ratification  of  only  nine 
States  was  necessary  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution. 
The  others  could  come  into  the  Union  later  if  they  chose, 
and  there  was  a  disposition  in  several  States  to  watch  the 
experiment  before  committing  themselves.  Hamilton,  who 
knew  that  such  a  policy,  if  pursued  by  the  more  important 
States,  would  result  in  civil  war,  was  determined  that  New 
York  should  not  behave  in  a  manner  which  would  ruin  her 
in  the  present  and  disgrace  her  in  history,  and  wrote  on 
with  increasing  vigour,  hoping  to  influence  the  minds  of 
the  oppositionists  elected  to  the  Convention  as  well  as  the 
people  at  large.  Even  he  had  never  written  anything 
which  had  attracted  so  wide  admiring  and  acrimonious 
attention.  The  papers  were  read  in  all  the  cities  of  the 
Confederation,  and  in  such  hamlets  as  boasted  a  mail-bag. 
When  they  reached  England  and  France  they  were  almost 
as  keenly  discussed.  That  they  steadily  made  converts, 
Hamilton  had  cause  to  know,  for  his  correspondence  was 
overwhelming.  Troup  and  General  Schuyler  attended  to 
the  greater  part  of  it ;  but  only  himself  could  answer  the 
frequent  letters  from  leaders  in  the  different  states  demand 
ing  advice.  He  thought  himself  fortunate  in  segregating 
five  hours  of  the  twenty-four  for  sleep.  The  excitement 
throughout  the  country  was  intense,  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  nowhere  and  for  months  did  conversation  wander 
from  the  subject  of  politics  and  the  new  Constitution,  for 
more  than  ten  minutes  at  a  time.  In  New  York  Hamil 
ton  was  the  subject  of  constant  and  vicious  attack,  the 
Clintonians  sparing  no  effort  to  discredit  him  with  the 
masses.  New  York  City  was  nicknamed  Hamiltonopolis 
and  jingled  in  scurrilous  rhymes.  In  the  midst  of  it  all 
were  two  diversions:  the  fourth  of  his  children,  and  a  letter 
which  he  discovered  before  General  Schuyler  or  Troup  had 
sorted  his  mail.  As  the  entire  Schuyler  family  were  now 
in  his  house,  and  his  new  son  was  piercingly  discontented 
with  his  lot,  he  took  refuge  in  his  chambers  in  Garden 
Street,  until  Betsey  was  able  to  restore  peace  and  happiness 
to  his  home.  The  postman  had  orders  to  bring  his  mail- 


272  THE   CONQUEROR 

bag  thither,  and  it  was  on  the  second  morning  of  his  exile 
that  the  perfume  of  violets  caused  him  to  make  a  hasty 
journey  through  the  letters. 

He  found  the  spring  sweetness  coincidentally  with  a 
large  square,  flowingly  superscribed.  He  glanced  at  the 
clock.  His  devoted  assistants  would  not  arrive  for  half  an 
hour.  He  broke  the  seal.  It  was  signed  Eliza  Capet 
Croix,  and  ran  as  follows :  — 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Do  you  care  anything  for  the  opinion  of  my  humble  sex, 
I  wonder?  The  humblest  of  your  wondering  admirers  is  driven  beyond 
the  bounds  of  feminine  modesty,  sir,  to  tell  you  that  what  you  do  not 
write  she  no  longer  cares  to  read.  I  was  the  first  to  detect — I  claim 
that  honour  —  such  letters  by  Publius  as  were  not  by  your  hand,  and 
while  I  would  not  disparage  efforts  so  conscientious,  they  seem  to  me 
like  dawn  to  sunrise.  Is  this  idle  flattery?  Ah,  sir  !  I  too  am  greatly 
flattered.  I  do  not  want  for  admirers.  Nor  can  I  hope  to  know  —  to 
know  —  so  great  and  busy  a  man.  But  my  restless  vanity,  sir,  compels 
me  to  force  myself  upon  your  notice.  I  should  die  if  I  passed  another 
day  unknown  to  the  man  who  gives  me  the  greatest  pleasures  of  my 
life — I  have  every  line  you  have  had  printed  that  can  be  found,  and 
half  the  booksellers  in  the  country  searching  for  the  lost  copies  of  the 
Continentalist  —  I  should  die,  I  say,  if  you  were  longer  ignorant  that  I 
have  the  intelligence,  the  ambition,  and  the  erudition  to  admire  you 
above  all  men,  living  or  dead.  P'or  that  is  my  pride,  sir.  Perchance  I 
was  born  for  politics  ;  at  all  events  you  have  made  them  my  passion, 
and  I  spend  my  days  converting  Clintonians  to  your  cause.  Do  not 
scorn  my  efforts.  It  is  not  every  day  that  a  woman  turns  a  man's 
thoughts  from  love  to  patriotism ;  I  have  heard  that  'tis  oftenest  the 
other  way.  But  I  take  your  time,  and  hasten  to  subscribe  myself,  my 
dear  sir, 

Your  humble  and  obd't  servant 

ELIZA  CAPET  CROIX. 

The  absence  of  superfluous  capitals  and  of  underscoring 
in  this  letter,  alone  would  have  arrested  his  attention,  for 
even  men  of  a  less  severe  education  than  himself  were 
liberal  in  these  resources,  and  women  were  prodigal.  The 
directness  and  precision  were  also  remarkable,  and  he 
recalled  that  she  was  but  nineteen.  The  flattery  touched 
him,  no  doubt,  for  he  was  very  human  ;  and  despite  the 
brevity  of  his  leisure,  he  read  the  note  twice,  and  devoted 
a  moment  to  conjecture. 

"  She  is  cleverer,  even,  than  Lady  Kitty,  or  Susan  and 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  273 

Kitty  Livingston,  by  this,"  he  mused.  "  She  would  be 
worth  knowing,  did  a  driven  mortal  but  have  the  time  to 
idle  in  the  wake  of  so  much  intelligence  —  and  beauty. 
Not  to  answer  this  were  unpardonable — I  cannot  allow 
the  lady  to  die."  He  wrote  her  a  brief  note  of  graceful 
acknowledgement,  which  caused  Mrs.  Croix  to  shed  tears 
of  exultation  and  vexation.  He  acknowledged  her  but 
breathed  no  fervid  desire  for  another  letter.  It  is  not  to 
be  expected  that  maturest  nineteen  can  realize  that,  although 
a  busy  man  will  find  time  to  see  a  woman  if  it  be  worth  his 
while,  the  temptations  to  a  romantic  correspondence  are 
not  overwhelming. 

Hamilton  tore  up  the  letter  and  threw  it  into  the  waste 
basket.  Its  perfume,  delicate  but  imperious,  intruded  upon 
his  brief.  He  dived  into  the  basket  as  he  heard  Troup's 
familiar  whistle,  and  thrust  the  pieces  into  a  breast  pocket. 
In  a  moment  he  remembered  that  Betsey's  head  would  be 
pillowed  upon  that  pocket  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  and  he 
hastily  extracted  the  mutilated  letter,  and  applied  a  match 
to  it,  consigning  women  to  perdition.  Troup  sniffed  as  he 
entered  the  room. 

"  Violets  and  burnt  paper,"  remarked  he.  "  'Tis  a  com 
bination  I  have  noticed  before.  I  wonder  will  some  astute 
perfumer  ever  seize  the  idea  ?  It  would  have  its  guilty 
appeal  for  our  sex  —  perchance  for  t'other  ;  though  I'm  no 
cynic  like  you  and  Morris." 

"  Shut  up,"  said  Hamilton,  "  and  get  to  work  if  you  love 
me,  for  I've  no  time  to  write  to  St.  Croix,  much  less  waste 
five  seconds  on  any  woman." 

That  afternoon  he  wasted  half  an  hour  in  search  of  a 
bunch  of  redolent  violets  to  carry  home  to  his  wife.  He 
pinned  three  on  his  coat. 

V 

When  the  i/th  of  June  approached,  Hamilton,  John  Jay, 
Chancellor  Livingston,  and  James  Duane,  started  on  horse 
for  Poughkeepsie,  not  daring,  with  Clinton  on  the  spot, 
and  the  menace  of  an  immediate  adjournment,  to  trust  to 


274  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  winds  of  the  Hudson.  General  Schuyler  had  promised 
to  leave  even  a  day  sooner  from  the  North,  and  the  majority 
of  Federal  delegates  had  gone  by  packet-boat,  or  horse,  in 
good  season. 

The  old  post  road  between  New  York  and  Albany  was, 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  way,  but  a  rough  belt  through 
a  virgin  forest.  Occasionally  a  farmer  had  cleared  a  few 
acres,  the  lawns  of  a  manor  house  were  open  to  the  sun, 
the  road  was  varied  by  the  majesty  of  Hudson  and  palisade 
for  a  brief  while,  or  by  the  precipitous  walls  of  mountains, 
so  thickly  wooded  that  even  the  wind  barely  fluttered  their 
sombre  depths.  Man  was  a  moving  arsenal  in  those  long 
and  lonely  journeys,  for  the  bear  and  the  panther  were 
breeding  undisturbed.  But  the  month  was  hot,  and  those 
forest  depths  were  very  cool;  the  scenery  was  often  as 
magnificent  as  primeval,  and  a  generous  hospitality  at  many 
a  board  dispelled,  for  an  interval,  the  political  anxiety  of 
Hamilton  and  his  companions. 

Hamilton,  despite  a  mind  trained  to  the  subordination  of 
private  interests  to  public  duty,  knew  that  it  was  the  crisis 
of  his  own  destiny  toward  which  he  was  hastening.  He 
had  bound  up  his  personal  ambitions  with  the  principles  of 
the  Federalist  party  —  so  called  since  the  publication  in  book 
form  of  the  Publius  essays ;  for  not  only  was  he  largely 
responsible  for  those  principles,  but  his  mind  was  too  well 
regulated  to  consider  the  alternative  of  a  compromise  with 
a  possibly  victorious  party  which  he  detested.  Perhaps 
his  ambition  was  too  vaulting  to  adapt  itself  to  a  restricted 
field  when  his  imagination  had  played  for  years  with  the 
big  ninepins  of  history ;  at  all  events,  it  was  inseparably 
bound  up  with  nationalism  in  the  boldest  sense  achievable, 
and  with  methods  which  days  and  nights  of  severe  thought 
had  convinced  him  were  for  the  greatest  good  of  the 
American  people.  Union  meant  Washington  in  the  su 
preme  command,  himself  with  the  reins  of  government  in 
both  hands.  The  financial,  the  foreign,  the  domestic  policy 
of  a  harmonious  federation  were  as  familiar  to  his  mind  as 
they  are  to  us  to-day.  Only  he  could  achieve  them,  and 
only  New  York  could  give  him  those  reins  of  power. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  275 

It  is  true  that  he  had  but  to  move  his  furniture  over  to 
Philadelphia  to  be  welcomed  to  citizenship  with  acclama 
tion  by  that  ambitious  town  ;  but  not  only  was  his  pride 
bound  up  in  the  conquest  of  New  York  from  Clintonism 
to  Federalism,  but  New  York  left  out  of  the  Union,  divid 
ing  as  she  did  New  England  from  the  South  and  North,  of 
the  highest  commercial  importance  by  virtue  of  her  central 
position  and  her  harbour,  meant  civil  war  at  no  remote 
period,  disunion,  and  the  undoing  of  the  most  careful  and 
strenuous  labours  of  the  nation's  statesmen.  That  New 
York  should  be  forced  into  the  Union  at  once  Hamilton 
was  determined  upon,  if  he  had  to  resort  to  a  coup  which 
might  or  might  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  rest  of 
the  country.  Nevertheless,  he  looked  forward  to  the  next 
few  weeks  with  the  deepest  anxiety.  An  accident,  an  ill 
ness,  and  the  cause  was  lost,  for  he  made  no  mistake  in 
estimating  himself  as  the  sole  force  which  could  bear  Clin 
ton  and  his  magnificent  organization  to  the  ground.  Ham 
ilton  was  no  party  manipulator.  He  relied  upon  his 
individual  exertions,  abetted  by  those  of  his  lieutenants, — 
the  most  high-minded  and  the  ablest  men  in  the  country, 
—  to  force  his  ideas  upon  the  masses  by  their  own  mo 
mentum  and  weight.  Indeed,  so  individual  did  he  make 
the  management  of  the  Federalist  party,  that  years  later, 
when  the  "  Republican  "  leaders  determined  upon  its  over 
throw,  they  aimed  all  their  artillery  at  him  alone  :  if  he  fell 
the  party  must  collapse  on  top  of  him ;  did  he  retain  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  he  would  magnetize  their  obedi 
ence,  no  matter  what  rifts  there  might  be  in  his  ranks. 

He  had  established  a  horse-express  between  Virginia  and 
Poughkeepsie,  and  between  New  Hampshire  and  the  little 
capital.  Eight  States  having  ratified,  the  signature  of 
New  Hampshire,  the  next  in  order,  would  mean  union 
and  a  trial  of  the  Constitution,  a  prospect  which  could  not 
fail  to  influence  the  thinking  men  of  the  anti-Federal 
party ;  but  it  was  from  the  ratification  of  Virginia  that  he 
hoped  the  greatest  good.  This  State  occupied  much  the 
same  position  in  the  South  that  New  York  did  in  the 
North,  geographically,  commercially,  historically,  and  in 


276  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  importance  of  her  public  men.  And  she  was  as  bit 
terly  opposed  to  union,  to  what  a  narrow  provincialism 
held  to  be  the  humiliation  of  the  States.  Patrick  Henry, 
her  most  powerful  and  eloquent  leader,  not  through  the 
selfish  policy  of  a  Clinton,  but  in  the  limitations  of  a  too 
narrow  genius,  was  haranguing  with  all  his  recuperated 
might  against  the  sinister  menace  to  the  liberties  of  a  peo 
ple  who  had  freed  themselves  of  one  despotism  so  dearly ; 
and  even  Randolph,  with  characteristic  hesitancy  when  ap 
proaching  a  point,  was  deficient  in  enthusiasm,  although 
he  intimated  that  he  should  vote  for  the  unconditional 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  he  had  refused  to  sign.  He 
and  Marshall  were  Madison's  only  assistants  of  importance 
against  the  formidable  opponent  of  union,  and  it  was  well 
understood  among  leaders  that  Jefferson,  who  was  then 
American  minister  in  France,  gave  the  Constitution  bul:  a 
grudging  and  inconsistent  approval,  and  would  prefer  that 
it  failed,  were  not  amendments  tacked  on  which  practically 
would  nullify  its  energies.  But  although  Hamilton  had 
such  lieutenants  as  John  Jay,  Philip  Schuyler,  Duane,  and 
Robert  Livingston,  Madison  had  the  inestimable,  though 
silent,  backing  of  Washington.  The  great  Chief  had, 
months  since,  forcibly  expressed  his  sentiments  in  a  public 
letter ;  and  that  colossal  figure,  the  more  potent  that  it  was 
invisible  and  mute,  guided  as  many  wills  as  Madison's 
strenuous  exertions  and  unanswerable  dispassionate  logic. 
But  Washington,  although  sufficiently  revered  by  New 
Yorkers,  was  not  their  very  own,  as  was  he  the  Virginians' ; 
was  by  no  means  so  impinging  and  insistent  as  his  ex 
cellency,  Governor  Clinton,  he  whose  powerful  will  and 
personality,  aided  by  an  enterprise  and  wisdom  that  were 
not  always  misguided,  for  eleven  years  had  compelled  their 
grateful  submission.  It  was  difficult  to  convince  New 
Yorkers  that  such  a  man  was  wholly  wrong  in  his  patriot 
ism,  particularly  when  their  own  interests  seemed  bound  so 
firmly  to  his.  It  was  this  dominant,  dauntless,  resource 
ful,  political  nabob  that  Hamilton  knew  he  must  conquer 
single-handed,  if  he  conquered  him  at  all ;  for  his  lieuten 
ants,  able  as  they  were,  could  only  second  and  abet  him ; 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  277 

they  had  none  of  his  fertility  of  resource.  As  he  rode 
through  the  forest  he  rehearsed  every  scheme  of  counter- 
play  and  every  method  that  made  for  conquest  which  his 
fertile  brain  had  conceived.  He  would  exercise  every 
argument  likely  to  appeal  to  the  decent  instincts  of  those 
ambitious  of  ranking  as  first-class  citizens,  as  well  as  to 
the  congenital  selfishness  of  man,  which  could  illuminate 
the  darker  recesses  of  their  Clintonized  understandings, 
and  effect  their  legitimate  conversion  ;  then,  if  these  higher 
methods  failed,  coercion. 

"  What  imperious  method  are  you  devising,  Hamilton?"' 
asked  Livingston.  "  Your  lips  are  set ;  your  eyes  are- 
almost  black.  I've  seen  you  like  that  in  court,  but  never 
in  good  company  before.  You  look  as  if  considering  a 
challenge  to  mortal  combat." 

Hamilton's  brow  cleared,  and  he  laughed  with  that  mer 
curial  lightness  which  did  more  to  preserve  the  balance 
of  what  otherwise  would  have  been  an  overweighted  mind 
than  any  other  quality  it  possessed. 

"  Well,  am  I  not  to  fight  a  duel  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Would 
that  I  could  call  Clinton  out  and  settle  the  question  as 
easily  as  that.  I  disapprove  of  duelling,  but  so  critical  a 
moment  as  this  would  justify  anything  short  of  trickery. 
We'll  leave  that  to  Clinton  ;  but  although  there  is  no  vast 
difference  between  my  political  and  my  private  conscience, 
there  are  recourses  which  are  as  fair  in  political  as  in  mar 
tial  warfare,  and  I  should  be  found  ingenuous  and  inca 
pable  did  I  fail  to  make  use  of  them." 

"  Well,  you  love  a  fight,"  said  Jay,  without  experiencing 
the  humour  of  his  remark.  "  I  believe  you  would  rather 
fight  than  sit  down  in  good  company  at  any  time,  and  you 
are  notoriously  convivial.  But  easy  conquest  would  de 
moralize  you.  If  I  do  not  mistake,  you  have  the  greatest 
battle  of  your  career,  past  or  present,  immediately  ahead 
of  you  —  and  it  means  so  much  to  all  of  us  —  I  fear — I 
fear- 

"  I  will  listen  to  no  fears,"  cried  Hamilton,  who  at  alL 
events  had  no  mind  to  be  tormented  by  any  but  his  own. 
"  Are  we  not  alive  ?  Are  we  not  in  health  ?  Are  not  our 


278  THE    CONQUEROR 

intellectual  powers  at  their  ripest  point  of  development  ? 
Can  Clinton,  Melancthon  Smith,  Yates,  Lansing,  Jones, 
make  a  better  showing  ?  " 

"We  are  nineteen  against  forty-six,"  said  Jay,  with  con 
ceivable  gloom. 

"True.  But  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not 
shortly  be  forty-six  against  nineteen." 

"  We  certainly  are  Right  against  the  most  unstatesman- 
like  Selfishness  the  world  has  ever  seen,"  observed  Duane, 

"Would  that  experience  justified  us  in  thinking  well 
enough  of  the  human  race  to  gather  courage  from  that 
fact,"  replied  Hamilton.  "  It  is  to  the  self-interest  of  the 
majority  we  shall  have  to  appeal.  Convince  them  that 
there  is  neither  career  nor  prosperity  for  them  in  an  iso 
lated  State,  and  we  may  drag  them  up  to  a  height  which 
is  safer  than  their  mire,  simply  because  it  is  better,  or 
better  because  it  is  safer.  This  is  a  time  to  practice 
patriotism,  but  not  to  waste  time  talking  about  it." 

"Your  remarks  savour  of  cynicism,"  replied  Jay,  "but 
I  fear  there  is  much  truth  in  them.  It  is  only  in  the 
millennium,  I  suppose,  that  we  shall  have  the  unthinkable 
happiness  of  seeing  on  all  sides  of  us  an  absolute  conform 
ity  to  our  ideals." 

In  spite  of  the  close,  if  somewhat  formal,  friendship  be 
tween  Jay  and  Hamilton,  the  latter  was  often  momentarily 
depressed  by  the  resemblance  of  this  flawless  character  to, 
and  its  rigid  contrasts  from,  his  dead  friend  Laurens.  Jay 
was  all  that  Laurens  had  passionately  wished  to  be,  and 
apparently  without  effort ;  for  nature  had  not  balanced 
him  with  a  redeeming  vice,  consequently  with  no  power  to 
inspire  hate  or  love.  Had  he  been  a  degree  greater,  a 
trifle  more  ambitious,  or  had  circumstances  isolated  him  in 
politics,  he  would  have  been  an  even  lonelier  and  loftier 
figure  than  Washington,  for  our  Chief  had  one  or  two 
redeeming  humanities;  as  it  was,  he  stood  to  a  few  as  a 
character  so  perfect  that  they  marvelled,  while  they  de 
plored  his  lack  of  personal  influence.  But  his  intellect 
is  in  the  rank  which  stands  just  beneath  that  of  the  men 
of  genius  revealed  by  history,  and  he  hangs  like  a  silver 


"ALEXANDER  THE    GREAT"  279 

star  of  the  tropics  upon  the  sometimes  dubious  fields  of 
our  ancestral  heavens.  Nevertheless,  he  frequently  in 
spired  Hamilton  with  so  poignant  a  longing  for  Laurens 
that  our  impetuous  hero  was  tempted  to  wish  for  an  ex 
change  of  fates. 

"  In  the  millennium  we  will  all  tell  the  truth  and  hate 
each  other,"  answered  Hamilton.  "  And  we  either  shall 
all  be  fools,  or  those  irritants  will  be  extinct ;  in  any  case 
we  shall  be  happy,  '  particularly  if  we  have  someone  to 
hate." 

"Ah,  now  you  jest,"  said  Duane,  smiling.  "For  you 
are  logical  or  nothing.  You  may  be  happy  when  on  the 
warpath,  but  the  rest  of  us  are  not.  And  you  are  the 
last  man  to  be  happy  in  a  millennium  by  yourself." 

They  all  laughed  at  this  sally,  for  Hamilton  was  seldom 
silent.  He  answered  lightly  :  — 

"  Someone  to  fight.  Someone  to  love.  Three  warm 
friends.  Three  hot  enemies.  A  sufficiency  of  delicate 
food  and  wine.  A  West  Indian  swimming-bath.  Some 
one  to  talk  to.  Someone  to  make  love  to.  War.  Poli 
tics.  Books.  Song.  Children.  Woman.  A  religion. 
There  you  have  the  essence  of  the  millennium,  embroider 
it  as  you  may." 

"And  scenery,"  added  Jay,  devoutly. 

The  road  for  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour  had  led  up  a 
steep  hill,  above  which  other  hills  piled  without  an  open 
ing  ;  and  below  lay  the  Hudson.  As  they  paused  upon  the 
bare  cone  of  the  elevation,  the  river  looked  like  a  chain  of 
Adirondack  lakes,  with  dense  and  upright  forests  rising 
tier  beyond  tier  until  lost  in  the  blue  haze  of  the  Catskills. 
The  mountains  looked  as  if  they  had  pushed  out  from  the 
mainland  down  to  the  water's  edge  to  cross  and  meet  each 
other.  So  close  were  the  opposite  crags  that  the  travellers 
could  see  a  deer  leap  through  the  brush,  the  red  of  his 
coat  flashing  through  the  gloomy  depths.  Below  sped  two 
packet-boats  in  a  stiff  breeze. 

"  Friends  or  enemies  ?  "  queried  Livingston.  "  I  wish  I 
were  with  them,  for  I  must  confess  the  pleasures  of  horse 
travel  for  seventy-five  miles  must  be  the  climax  of  a  daily 


28o  THE   CONQUEROR 

habit  to  be  fully  appreciated.  It  is  all  very  well  for  Ham 
ilton,  who  is  on  a  horse  twice  every  day ;  but  as  I  am  ten 
years  older  and  proportionately  stiffer,  I  shall  leave  patriot 
ism  to  the  rest  of  you  for  a  day  or  two  after  our  arrival." 

Hamilton  did  not  answer.  He  had  become  conscious  of 
the  delicate  yet  piercing  scent  of  violets.  Wild  violets  had 
no  perfume,  and  it  was  long  past  their  season.  He  glanced 
eagerly  around,  but  without  realizing  what  prompted  a 
quick  stirring  of  his  pulses.  There  was  but  one  tree  on 
the  crag,  and  he  stood  against  it.  Almost  mechanically 
his  glance  sought  its  recesses,  and  his  hand  reached  for 
ward  to  something  white.  It  was  a  small  handkerchief  of 
cambric  and  lace.  The  other  men  were  staring  at  the 
scenery.  He  hastily  glanced  at  the  initials  in  the  corner 
of  the  scented  trifle,  and  wondered  that  he  should  so  easily 
decipher  a  tangled  E.  C.  C.  But  he  marvelled,  neverthe 
less,  and  thrust  the  handkerchief  into  his  pocket. 

They  reached  Poughkeepsie  late  in  the  afternoon.  Main 
Street,  which  was  the  interruption  of  the  post  road,  and 
East  Street,  which  terminated  the  Dutchess  turnpike,  were 
gaily  decorated  with  flags  and  greens,  the  windows  and 
pavements  crowded  with  people  whose  faces  reflected  the 
nervous  excitement  with  which  the  whole  country  throbbed. 
The  capital  for  ten  years,  the  original  village  had  spread 
over  the  hills  into  a  rambling  town  of  many  avenues,  straight 
and  twisted,  and  there  were  pretentious  houses  and  a  cer 
tain  amount  of  business.  Hamilton  and  his  party  were 
stared  at  with  deep  curiosity,  but  not  cheered,  for  the 
town  was  almost  wholly  Clintonian.  The  Governor  had  his 
official  residence  on  the  Dutchess  turnpike,  a  short  dis 
tance  from  town ;  and  this  was  his  court.  Nevertheless,  it 
was  proudly  conscious  of  the  dignity  incumbent  upon  it  as 
the  legislative  centre  of  the  State,  and  no  matter  what  the 
suspense  or  the  issue,  had  no  mind  to  make  the  violent 
demonstrations  of  other  towns.  Nearly  every  town  of  the 
North,  including  Albany,  had  burned  Hamilton  in  effigy, 
albeit  with  battered  noses,  for  he  had  his  followers  every 
where  ;  but  here  he  was  met  with  a  refreshing  coolness, 
for  which  the  others  of  his  party,  at  least,  were  thankful. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  28n 

They  went  first  to  Van  Kleek's  tavern,  on  the  Upper 
Landing  Road,  not  far  from  the  Court-house,  to  secure 
the  rooms  they  had  engaged ;  but  finding  an  invitation 
awaiting  them  from  Henry  Livingston  to  make  use  of  his, 
house  during  the  Convention,  repaired  with  unmixed  sat 
isfaction  to  the  large  estate  on  the  other  side  of  the  town. 
The  host  was  absent,  but  his  cousin  had  been  requested  to 
do  the  honours  to  as  many  as  he  would  ask  to  share  a 
peaceful  retreat  from  the  daily  scene  of  strife. 

"And  it  has  the  advantage  of  an  assured  privacy,"  said 
Hamilton.  "  For  here  we  can  hold  conference  nightly  with 
no  fear  of  eavesdropping.  Moreover,  to  get  a  bath  at  Van 
Kleek's  is  as  easy  as  making  love  to  Clinton." 

General  Schuyler  joined  them  an  hour  later.  He  had 
been  in  town  all  day,  and  had  held  several  conferences 
with  the  depressed  Federalists,  who,  between  a  minority 
which  made  them  almost  ridiculous,  and  uncomfortable 
lodgings,  were  deep  in  gloomy  forebodings.  As  soon  as 
they  heard  of  their  Captain's  arrival  they  swarmed  down 
to  the  Livingston  mansion.  Hamilton  harangued  them 
cheerfully  in  the  drawing-room,  drank  with  them,  in  his 
host's  excellent  wine,  to  the  success  of  their  righteous 
cause ;  and  they  retired,  buoyant,  confirmed  in  their  almost 
idolatrous  belief  in  the  man  who  was  responsible  for  all 
the  ideas  they  possessed. 

VI 

Although  Hamilton  and  Clinton  had  no  liking  for  each 
other,  they  were  far  from  being  the  furious  principals  in 
one  of  those  political  hatreds  which  the  times  were  about 
to  engender, — an  intellectual  cataclysm  which  Hamilton 
was  to  experience  in  all  its  blackness,  of  which  he  was  to 
be  the  most  conspicuous  victim.  He  had  by  no  means 
plumbed  his  depths  as  yet.  So  far  he  had  met  with  few 
disappointments,  few  stumbling  blocks,  never  a  dead  wall. 
Life  had  smiled  upon  him  as  if  magnetized.  At  home  he 
found  perfect  peace,  abroad  augmenting  ranks  of  followers, 
sufficient  work  to  use  up  his  nervous  energies,  and  the : 


*82  THE   CONQUEROR 

stimulant  of  enmity  and  opposition  that  he  loved.  It  was 
long  since  he  had  given  way  to  rage,  although  he  flew 
into  a  temper  occasionally.  He  told  himself  he  was  become 
a  philosopher,  and  was  far  from  suspecting  the  terrible 
passions  which  the  future  was  to  undam.  His  mother, 
with  dying  insight,  had  divined  the  depth  and  fury  of  a 
nature  which  was  all  light  on  the  surface,  and  in  its  upper 
half  a  bewildering  but  harmonious  intermingling  of  strength, 
energy,  tenderness,  indomitability,  generosity,  and  intense 
emotionalism  :  a  stratum  so  large  and  so  generously  en 
dowed  that  no  one  else,  least  of  all  himself,  had  suspected 
that  primeval  inheritance  which  might  blaze  to  ashes  one 
of  the  most  nicely  balanced  judgements  ever  bestowed  on  a 
mortal,  should  his  enemies  combine  and  beat  his  own  great 
strength  to  the  dust. 

But  when  Hamilton  and  Clinton  approached  the  Court 
house  from  opposite  directions,  en  the  morning  of  the  I7th, 
they  did  not  cross  the  street  to  avoid  meeting,  although 
they  bowed  with  extreme  formality  and  measured  each 
other  with  a  keen  and  speculative  regard.  Clinton  was 
now  forty-nine  years  old,  his  autocratic  will,  love  of 
power,  and  knowledge  of  men,  in  their  contemptuous 
maturity.  He  was  a  large  man,  with  the  military  bearing 
of  the  born  and  finished  martinet,  a  long  hard  nose,  and 
an  irritated  eye.  The  irritation  kindled  as  it  met  Hamil 
ton's,  which  was  sparkling  with  the  eager  determination  of 
a  youth  which,  although  desirable  in  itself,  was  become  a 
presumption  when  pitted  against  those  eighteen  additional 
distinguished  years  of  the  Governor  of  New  York.  That 
there  was  a  twinkle  of  amusement  in  the  Federalist's  eye 
was  also  to  his  discredit. 

"  The  young  fop,"  fumed  Clinton,  as  he  brushed  a  fleck 
of  mud  from  his  own  magnificent  costume  of  black  ducape, 
<(  he  is  the  enfant  gate  of  politics,  and  I  shall  settle  him 
here  once  for  all.  It  will  be  a  public  benefaction." 

The  Court-house,  which  stood  halfway  up  the  hill,  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  East  streets,  and  was  surrounded  by 
the  shade  of  many  maples,  was  a  two-story  building  of 
rough  stones  welded  together  by  a  ruder  cement.  The 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  283 

roof  sloped,  and  above  was  a  belfry.  The  Convention 
was  held  in  the  upper  story,  which  was  unbroken  by  par 
tition  ;  and  with  the  windows  open  upon  what  looked  to 
be  a  virgin  forest,  so  many  were  the  ancient  trees  re 
maining  in  the  little  town,  the  singing  of  birds,  the  shrilling 
of  crickets,  the  murmur  of  the  leaves  in  an  almost  con 
stant  breeze,  the  old  Court-house  of  Poughkeepsie  was  by 
no  means  a  disagreeable  gathering-place.  Moreover,  it  was 
as  picturesque  within  as  it  was  arcadian  without ;  for  the 
fine  alert-looking  men,  with  their  powdered  hair  in  queues, 
their  elaborately  cut  clothes  of  many  colours,  made  for  the 
most  part  of  the  corded  silk  named  ducape,  their  lawn  and 
ruffles,  made  up  the  details  of  a  charming  picture,  which 
was  far  from  appealing  to  them,  but  which  gives  us  a 
distinct  pleasure  in  the  retrospect. 

Governor  Clinton  was  elected  the  President  of  the  Con 
vention.  On  the  right  of  the  central  table  sat  his  forty- 
five  henchmen,  with  Melancthon  Smith,  one  of  the  most 
astute  and  brilliant  debaters  of  the  time,  well  to  the  front 
Opposite  sat  Hamilton,  surrounded  by  General  Schuyler, 
Jay,  Duane,  and  Robert  Livingston,  the  rest  of  his  small 
following  close  to  the  windows,  but  very  alert,  their  gaze 
never  ranging  far  from  their  leader.  Beyond  the  bar 
crowded  the  invited  guests,  many  of  them  women  in  all 
the  finery  of  the  time. 

If  the  anti-Federalists  had  entertained  the  idea  of  an 
immediate  and  indefinite  adjournment,  they  appear  to  have 
abandoned  it  without  waste  of  time ;  perhaps  because  long 
and  tedious  journeys  in  midsummer  were  not- to  be  played 
with ;  perhaps  because  they  were  sure  of  their  strength ; 
possibly  because  Clinton  was  so  strongly  in  favour  of 
arranging  Hamilton's  destinies  once  for  all. 

Certainly  at  the  outset  the  prospects  of  the  Federalists 
were  almost  ludicrous.  The  anti-Federalists  were  two- 
thirds  against  one-third,  fortified  against  argument,  uncom 
promisingly  opposed  to  union  at  the  expense  of  State 
sovereignty,  clever  and  thinking  men,  most  of  them,  de 
voted  to  Clinton,  and  admirably  led  by  an  orator  who 
acknowledged  no  rival  but  Hamilton.  The  latter  set  his 


284  THE   CONQUEROR 

lips  more  than  once,  and  his  heart  sank,  but  only  to 
leap  a  moment  later  with  delight  in  the  mere  test  of 
strength. 

Clinton's  first  move  was  to  attempt  a  vote  at  once  upon 
the  Constitution  as  a  whole,  but  he  was  beaten  by  Hamil 
ton  and  many  in  his  own  ranks,  who  were  in  favour  of  the 
fair  play  of  free  debate.  The  Governor  was  forced  to 
permit  the  Convention  to  go  into  a  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
which  would  argue  the  Constitution  section  by  section. 
Hamilton  had  gained  a  great  point,  and  he  soon  revealed 
the  use  he  purposed  to  make  of  it. 

It  is  doubtful  if  his  own  followers  had  anticipated  that 
he  would  speak  almost  daily  for  three  weeks,  receiving 
and  repelling  the  brunt  of  every  argument;  and  certainly 
Clinton  had  looked  for  no  such  feat. 

The  contest  opened  on  the  Clintonian  side,  with  the 
argument  that  an  amended  Confederation  was  all  that 
was  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  a  more  general  welfare. 
The  plan  advanced  was  that  Congress  should  be  given  the 
power  to  compel  by  force  the  payment  of  the  requisitions 
which  the  States  so  often  ignored.  Hamilton  demolished 
this  proposition  with  one  of  his  most  scornful  outbursts. 

Coerce  the  States  !  [he  cried].  Never  was  a  madder  project  devised  ! 
Do  you  imagine  that  the  result  of  the  failure  of  one  State  to  comply  would 
be  confined  to  that  State  alone  ?  Are  you  so  willing  to  hazard  a  civil 
war  ?  Consider  the  refusal  of  Massachusetts,  the  attempt  at  compulsion 
by  Congress.  What  a  series  of  pictures  does  this  conjure  up  ?  A 
powerful  State  procuring  immediate  assistance  from  other  States,  par 
ticularly  from  some  delinquent  !  A  complying  State  at  war  with  a  non- 
complying  State  !  Congress  marching  the  troops  of  one  State  into  the 
bosom  of  another  !  This  State  collecting  auxiliaries  and  forming  per 
haps  a  majority  against  its  Federal  head  !  And  can  any  reasonable 
man  be  well  disposed  toward  a  government  which  makes  war  and  car 
nage  the  only  means  of  supporting  itself  ?  —  a  government  that  can 
exist  only  by  the  sword  ?  And  what  sort  of  a  State  would  it  be  which 
would  suffer  itself  to  be  used  as  the  instrument  of  coercing  another  ? 
...  A  Federal  standing  army,  then,  must  enforce  the  requisitions  or 
the  Federal  treasury  will  be  left  without  supplies,  and  the  government 
without  support.  .  .  .  There  is  but  one  cure  for  such  an  evil  —  to  en 
able  the  national  laws  to  operate  on  individuals  like  the  laws  of  the 
States.  To  take  the  old  Confederation  as  the  basis  of  a  new  system, 
and  to  trust  the  sword  and  the  purse  to  a  single  assembly  organized 


"ALEXANDER  THE    GREAT"  285 

upon  principles  so  defective,  giving  it  the  full  powers  of  taxation  and 
the  national  forces,  would  result  in  what  —  Despotism  !  To  avoid  the 
very  issue  which  appears  to  be  held  in  such  abject  terror,  a  totally  dif 
ferent  government  from  anything  into  which  the  old  Confederation  can 
be  twisted,  or  fitted  out  with  wings  and  gables,  must  be  established  with 
proper  powers  and  proper  checks  and  balances. 

His  words  created  a  palpable  uneasiness.  The  outburst 
was  the  more  effective  for  following  and  preceding  close 
passionless  and  pointed  reasoning,  a  trenchant  review  of 
other  republics  ancient  and  modern,  and  an  elaborate  argu 
ment  in  favour  of  the  representation  prescribed  by  the  new 
Constitution. 

Hamilton  was  not  only  the  most  brilliant,  resourceful, 
and  unanswerable  orator  of  his  time,  but  he  was  gifted  with 
an  almost  diabolical  power  over  the  emotions  of  men,  which 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  use.  At  this  momentous  assembly 
he  kept  them  in  exercise ;  when  he  chose,  he  made  his 
audience  weep  ;  and  the  Clintonians  weakened  daily.  Had 
not  many  years  of  trouble  and  anxiety  made  their  emotions 
peculiarly  susceptible,  Hamilton  would  have  attempted 
their  agitation  more  sparingly ;  and  had  he  been  theatrical 
and  rhetorical  in  his  methods,  he  would  have  lost  his  con 
trol  of  them  long  before  the  end  of  the  session.  But  he 
rarely  indulged  in  a  trope  or  a  flight,  never  in  bathos 
nor  in  bursts  of  ill-balanced  appeal.  Nothing  ever  was 
drier  than  the  subjects  he  elucidated  day  after  day  for 
three  weeks  :  for  he  took  the  Constitution  to  pieces  bit  by 
bit,  and  compelled  them  to  listen  to  an  analysis  which,  if 
propounded  by  another,  would  have  bored  them  to  distrac 
tion,  vitally  interested  as  they  were.  But  he  not  only  so 
illuminated  the  cold  pages  of  the  Constitution  that  while 
they  listened  they  were  willing  to  swear  it  was  more  beau 
tiful  than  the  Bible,  but  the  torrent  of  his  eloquence,  never 
confusing,  so  sharp  was  every  feature  of  the  Constitution 
to  his  own  mind,  the  magic  of  his  personality,  and  his 
intense  humanity  in  treating  the  driest  sections  of  the 
document,  so  bewitched  his  audience  that,  even  when  he 
talked  for  six  hours  without  pausing  on  the  subject  of 
taxation,  perhaps  the  baldest  topic  which  the  human  un- 


286  THE   CONQUEROR 

derstanding  is  obliged  to  consider,  there  was  not  a  sign 
of  impatience  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy. 

He  by  no  means  harrowed  them  daily ;  he  was  far  too 
astute  for  that.  There  were  days  together  when  he  merely 
charmed  them,  and  they  sat  with  a  warm  unconscious 
smile  while  he  demolished  bit  by  bit  one  of  Melancthon 
Smith's  clever  arguments,  in  a  manner  so  courteous  that 
even  his  victim  could  only  shrug  his  shoulders,  although  he 
cursed  him  roundly  afterward.  Then,  when  his  audience 
least  expected  an  assault,  he  would  treat  them  to  a  burst  of 
scorn  that  made  them  hitch  their  chairs  and  glance  un 
easily  at  each  other,  or  to  a  picture  of  future  misery  which 
reduced  them  to  pulp. 

Clinton  was  infuriated.  Even  he  often  leaned  for 
ward,  forgetting  his  own  selfish  ambitions  when  Ham 
ilton's  thrilling  voice  poured  forth  a  rapid  appeal  to 
the  passions  of  his  hearers ;  but  he  quickly  resumed  the 
perpendicular,  and  set  his  lips  to  imprison  a  scarlet  com 
ment.  He  saw  that  his  men  were  weakening,  and  as 
much  to  the  luminous  expounding  of  the  Constitution,  to 
the  logic  of  the  orator,  as  to  a  truly  satanic  eloquence 
and  charm.  He  held  long  private  sessions  at  his  mansion 
on  the  turnpike,  where  he  was  assisted  by  much  mate 
rial  argument.  But  even  Melancthon  Smith,  who  distin 
guished  himself  in  almost  daily  debate,  acknowledged  more 
than  once  that  Hamilton  had  convinced  him ;  and  others 
asserted,  with  depression,  that  their  minds,  which  they  had 
supposed  to  be  their  own,  —  or  Clinton's, — seemed  to  be 
in  a  process  of  remaking. 

After  all,  for  the  most  part,  they  were  sincere  and  ear 
nest  ;  and  although  it  is  difficult  for  us  of  the  present  day  to 
comprehend  that  enlightened  men  ever  could  have  been  so 
mad  as  to  believe  that  the  country  would  prosper  without 
union,  that  a  mere  State  should  have  been  thought  to  be 
of  greater  importance  than  a  Nation,  or  that  a  democratic 
constitution,  which  permits  us  to  coddle  anarchists  in  our 
midst,  and  the  lower  orders  1:o  menace  the  liberties  of  the 
upper,  was  ever  an  object  of  terror  to  men  of  bitter  re 
publican  ideals,  yet  the  historic  facts  confront  us,  and  we 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  287 

wonder,  when  reading  the  astonishing  arguments  of  that 
long  and  hard-fought  contest,  if  Hamilton's  constitution, 
had  it  passed  the  Great  Convention,  would  not  have  rati 
fied  with  a  no  more  determined  opposition. 

Melancthon  Smith  was  one  of  the  brightest  and  most 
conspicuous  men  of  his  time,  but  his  name  is  forgotten 
to-day.  He  was  sincere ;  he  was,  in  his  way,  patriotic ; 
he  was  a  clever  and  eloquent  orator.  Moreover,  he  was 
generous  and  manly  enough  to  admit  himself  beaten,  as 
the  sequel  will  show.  To  insure  greatness,  must  the 
gift  of  long  foreknowledge  be  added  to  brilliant  parts 
and  an  honest  character  ?  If  this  be  the  essential,  no 
wonder  Melancthon  Smith  is  forgotten.  We  have  him 
asserting  that  in  a  country  where  a  portion  of  the  people 
live  more  than  twelve  hundred  miles  from  the  centre,  one 
body  cannot  legislate  for  the  whole.  He  apprehends  the 
abolition  of  the  State  constitutions  by  a  species  of  under 
mining,  predicts  their  immediate  dwindling  into  insignifi 
cance  before  the  comprehensive  and  dangerous  power 
vested  in  Congress.  He  believes  that  all  rich  men  are 
vicious  and  intemperate,  and  sees  nothing  but  despotism 
and  disaster  in  the  Federal  Constitution. 

But,  like  most  of  the  speakers  of  that  day,  he  was 
trenchant  and  unadorned,  so  that  his  speeches  are  as 
easy  reading  as  they  must  have  been  agreeable  to  hear. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  best  speakers  of  to-day  re 
semble  our  forefathers  in  this  respect  of  trenchant  sim 
plicity.  Mediocrity  for  half  a  century  has  ranted  on  the 
stump,  and  given  foreigners  a  false  impression  of  Ameri 
can  oratory.  Those  who  indulge  in  what  may  be  called 
the  open-air  metaphor,  so  intoxicating  is  our  climate, 
may  find  consolation  in  this  flight  of  Mr.  Gilbert  Living 
ston,  who  had  not  their  excuse ;  for  the  Court-house  of 
Poughkeepsie  was  hot  and  crowded.  He  is  declaiming 
against  the  senatorial  aristocrats  lurking  in  the  proposed 
Constitution.  "What,"  he  cries,  "what  will  be  their 
situation  in  a  Federal  town  ?  Hallowed  ground !  Noth 
ing  so  unclean  as  State  laws  to  enter  there,  surrounded 
as  they  will  be  by  an  impenetrable  wall  of  adamant  and 


288  THE   CONQUEROR 

gold,  the  wealth  of  the  whole  country  flowing  into  it !  " 
"  What?  What  WALL?"  cried  a  Federal.  "A  wall  of 
gold,  of  adamant,  which  will  flow  in  from  all  parts  of 
the  continent."  The  joyous  roar  of  our  ancestors  comes 
down  to  us. 

Hamilton's  speech,  in  which  he  as  effectually  disposed 
of  every  argument  against  the  Senate  as  Roger  Sherman 
had  done  in  the  Great  Convention,  is  too  long  to  be 
quoted ;  but  it  is  as  well  to  give  the  precise  words  in 
which  he  defines  the  vital  difference  between  republics  and 
democracies. 

It  has  been  observed  by  an  honourable  gentleman  [he  said]  that 
a  pure  democracy,  if  it  were  practicable,  would  be  the  most  perfect  gov 
ernment.  Experience  has  proved  that  no  position  in  politics  is  more 
false  than  this.  The  ancient  democracies,  in  which  the  people  them 
selves  deliberated,  never  possessed  one  feature  of  good  government. 
Their  very  character  was  tyranny  ;  their  figure  deformity.  When  they 
assembled,  the  field  of  debate  presented  an  ungovernable  mob,  not  only 
incapable  of  deliberation,  but  prepared  for  every  enormity.  In  these 
assemblies  the  enemies  of  the  people  brought  forward  their  plans  of 
.ambition  systematically.  They  were  opposed  by  their  enemies  of 
another  party ;  and  it  became  a  matter  of  contingency,  whether  the 
people  subjected  themselves  to  be  led  blindly  by  one  tyrant  or  another. 

Again  he  says,  in  reply  to  Melancthon  Smith  :  — 

It  is  a  harsh  doctrine  that  men  grow  wicked  as  they  improve  and 
enlighten  their  minds.  Experience  has  by  no  means  justified  us  in  the 
supposition  that  there  is  more  virtue  in  one  class  of  men  than  in  another. 
Look  through  the  rich  and  the  poor  of  this  community,  the  learned  and 
the  ignorant — •  Where  does  virtue  predominate  ?  The  difference  indeed 
•consists  not  in  the  quantity,  but  kind  of  vices  which  are  incident  to 
various  classes ;  and  here  the  advantage  of  character  belongs  to  the 
wealthy.  Their  vices  are  probably  more  favourable  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  State  than  those  of  the  indigent ;  and  partake  less  of  moral 
depravity. 

More  than  once  Hamilton  left  his  seat  and  went  up  to 
the  belfry  to  strain  his  eyes  down  the  Albany  post  road  or 
over  the  Dutchess  turnpike,  and  every  afternoon  he  rode 
for  miles  to  the  east  or  the  south,  hoping  to  meet  an  express 
messenger  with  a  letter  from  Madison,  or  with  the  good 
tidings  that  New  Hampshire  had  ratified.  Madison  wrote 


"ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT"  289 

every  few  days,  sometimes  hopefully,  sometimes  in  gloom, 
especially  if  he  were  not  feeling  well.  Each  letter  was 
from  ten  to  twelve  days  old,  and  it  seemed  to  Hamilton 
sometimes  that  he  should  burst  with  impatience  and  anxi 
ety.  On  the  24th  of  June,  as  he  was  standing  in  the 
belfry  while  Chancellor  Livingston  rained  his  sarcasms, 
he  thought  he  saw  an  object  moving  rapidly  down  the  white 
ribbon  which  cut  the  forest  from  the  East.  In  five  min 
utes  he  was  on  his  horse  and  the  Dutchess  turnpike.  The 
object  proved  to  be  the  messenger  from  Rufus  King,  and 
the  letter  which  Hamilton  opened  then  and  there  con 
tained  the  news  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  by 
New  Hampshire. 

There  was  now  a  Nation,  and  nine  States  would  be  gov 
erned  by  the  new  laws,  whether  New  York,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  Rhode  Island  sulked  unprotected  in  the  out 
skirts,  or  gracefully  entered  the  league  before  dragged  in 
or  driven.  It  was  a  glittering  and  two-edged  weapon  for 
Hamilton,  and  he  flashed  it  in  the  faces  of  the  anti-Feder 
alists  until  they  were  well-nigh  blinded.  Nevertheless,  he 
did  not  for  a  moment  underrate  Clinton's  great  strength, 
and  he  longed  desperately  for  good  news  from  Virginia, 
believing  that  the  entrance  of  that  important  State  into  the 
Union  would  have  more  influence  upon  the  opposition  than 
all  the  arts  of  which  he  was  master. 


VII 

And  through  it  all  Hamilton  was  sensible  that  someone 
was  working  for  him,  and  was  not  long  attributing  the  influ 
ence  to  its  proper  source.  Mysterious  hints  were  dropped 
of  political  reunions  in  a  house  on  a  thickly  wooded  hill, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  behind  the  Governor's,  the  fortunate 
guests  to  which  enchanted  abode  being  sworn  to  secrecy. 
That  it  was  the  nightly  resort  of  Clintonians  was  an  open 
secret,  but  that  Federalism  was  being  intelligently  inter 
preted,  albeit  with  deepest  subtlety,  was  guessed  by  few 
of  the  visitors  themselves,  and  Hamilton  divined  rather 


29o  THE  CONQUEROR 

than  heard  it.  If  converts  were  not  actually  made,  they 
were  at  least  undergoing  a  process  of  education  which 
would  make  them  the  more  susceptible  to  Hamilton's  final 
effort.  Even  before  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  radiant  hair 
among  the  maples,  when  riding  one  day  along  the  lane 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  he  suspected  that  Mrs.  Croix  had 
preceded  the  Convention  with  the  deliberate  intention  of 
giving  him  the  precious  assistance  of  a  woman  with  a 
talent  for  politics  and  a  genius  for  men.  He  was  touched, 
interested,  intrigued,  but  he  resisted  the  temptation  to  pre 
cipitate  himself  into  the  eddies  of  her  magnetism.  Croix 
was  in  England,  but  even  before  his  departure,  which 
among  men  was  regarded  as  final,  she  had  achieved  a  repu 
tation  as  a  lady  of  erratic  impulse  and  imperious  habit. 
That  she  was  also  the  most  brilliant  and  fascinating  woman 
in  America,  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful,  were  facts  as 
publicly  established.  Hamilton  had  resisted  the  tempta 
tion  to  meet  her,  the  temptation  receiving  no  help  from 
indifference  on  the  part  of  the  lady;  he  had  answered 
more  than  one  note  of  admirable  deftness.  But  he  had 
no  intention  of  being  drawn  into  an  intrigue  which  would 
be  public  gossip  in  a  day  and  ruin  the  happiness  of  his 
wife.  To  expect  a  man  of  Hamilton's  order  of  genius  to 
keep  faith  with  one  woman  for  a  lifetime  would  be  as 
reasonable  as  to  look  for  such  genius  without  the  tran 
scendent  passions  which  are  its  furnace ;  but  he  was  far 
from  being  a  man  who  sought  adventure.  Under  certain 
conditions  his  horizon  abruptly  contracted,  and  life  was 
dual  and  isolated ;  but  when  the  opportunity  had  passed 
he  dismissed  its  memory  with  contrite  philosophy,  and 
was  so  charming  to  Betsey  that  he  persuaded  himself,  as 
her,  that  he  wished  never  to  behold  the  face  of  another 
woman.  Nor  did  he  —  overwhelming  temptation  being 
absent :  he  was  the  most  driven  man  in  the  United  States, 
with  no  time  to  run  about  after  women,  had  such  been  his 
proclivity ;  and  his  romantic  temperament,  having  found 
high  satisfaction  in  his  courtship  and  marriage  with  one 
of  the  most  bewitching  and  notable  girls  in  America,  was 
smothered  under  a  mountain  of  work  and  domestic  bliss 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  291 

So,  although  well  aware  that  his  will  must  perish  at  times 
in  the  blaze  of  his  passions,  he  was  iron  against  the  tempta 
tion  that  held  itself  sufficiently  aloof.  To  an  extreme  point 
he  was  master  of  himself.  He  knew  that  it  would  be  no 
whirlwind  and  forgetting  with  this  mysterious  woman,  who 
had  set  the  town  talking,  and  yet  whose  social  talents  were 
so  remarkable  that  she  managed  women  as  deftly  as  she 
did  men,  and  was  a  welcome  guest  in  many  of  the  most 
exclusive  houses  in  New  York ;  the  men  were  careful  to 
do  none  of  their  gossiping  at  home,  and  the  women, 
although  they  criticised,  and  vowed  themselves  scandal 
ized,  succumbed  to  her  royal  command  of  homage  and  her 
air  of  proud  invincibility.  That  she  loved  him,  he  had 
reason  to  know,  and  although  he  regarded  it  as  a  young 
woman's  romantic  passion  for  a  public  man  focussing  the 
attention  of  the  country,  and  whom,  from  pressure  of 
affairs,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  meet,  still  the  passion 
existed,  and,  considering  her  beauty  and  talents,  was  too 
likely  to  communicate  itself  to  the  object,  were  he  rash 
enough  to  create  the  opportunity.  Hamilton's  morals 
were  the  morals  of  his  day,  —  a  day  when  aristocrats 
were  libertines,  receiving  as  little  censure  from  soci 
ety  as  from  their  own  consciences.  His  Scotch  founda 
tions  had  religious  shoots  in  their  grassy  crevices,  but 
religion  in  a  great  mind  like  Hamilton's  is  an  emotional 
incident,  one  of  several  passions  which  act  independently 
of  each  other.  He  avoided  temptation,  not  because  he 
desired  to  shun  a  torment  of  conscience  or  an  accounting 
with  his  Almighty, — to  Whom  he  was  devoted, — but  be 
cause  he  was  satisfied  with  the  woman  he  had  married  and 
would  have  sacrificed  his  ambitions  rather  than  deliberately 
cause  her  unhappiness.  Had  she  been  jealous  and  elo 
quent,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  his  haughty  intoler 
ance  of  restraint  would  have  driven  him  to  assert  the 
pleasure  of  his  will,  but  she  was  only  amused  at  his  occa 
sional  divagations,  and  had  no  thought  of  looking  for 
meanings  which  might  terrify  her.  He  was  quite  con 
scious  of  his  good  fortune  and  too  well  balanced  to  risk 
its  loss.  So  Mrs.  Croix  might  be  driven  to  rest  her  hopes 


292  THE   CONQUEROR 

on  a  trick  of  chance  or  a  coup  de  theatre.  But  she  was  a 
very  clever  woman ;  and  she  was  not  unlike  Hamilton  in 
a  quite  phenomenal  precocity,  and  in  the  torrential  nature 
of  her  passions. 

Having  a  considerable  knowledge  of  women  and  some 
of  Mrs.  Croix,  he  inferred  that  sooner  or  later  she  would 
cease  to  conceal  the  light  of  her  endeavour.  Nevertheless, 
he  was  taken  aback  to  receive  one  day  a  parcel,  which,  in 
the  seclusion  of  his  room,  he  found  to  contain  a  dainty 
scented  handkerchief,  the  counterpart  of  the  one  hidden  in 
the  tree  by  the  post  road. 

"  Can  she  have  put  it  there  on  purpose  ? "  he  thought. 
"  Did  she  take  for  granted  that  I  would  pause  to  admire 
the  scenery,  and  that  I  would  recognize  the  perfume  of  her 
violets  ?  Gad  !  she's  deeper  than  I  thought  if  that  be  true. 
The  wider  the  berth,  the  better !  " 

He  gave  no  sign,  and,  as  he  had  expected,  a  note  ar 
rived  in  due  course.  It  ran  :  — 

THE  MAPLES,  8th  July  —  4  in  the  morning. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  fear  I  am  a  woman  of  little  purpose,  for  I  intended  to 
flit  here  like  a  swallow  and  as  noiselessly  flit  again,  accomplishing  a 
political  trifle  for  you  meanwhile,  of  which  you  never  should  be  the 
wiser.  But  alas  !  I  am  tormented  by  the  idea  that  you  never  will 
know,  that  in  this  great  crisis  of  your  career,  you  think  me  indifferent 
when  I  understand  so  well  your  terrible  anxieties,  your  need  for  stupen 
dous  exertion,  and  all  that  this  convention  means  to  this  great  country 
and  to  yourself;  and  heart  and  soul  and  brain,  at  the  risk  of  my  popu 
larity, —  that  I  love,  sir,  —  and  of  a  social  position  grudgingly  acquired 
me,  but  which  I  demand  by  right  of  an  inheritance  of  which  the  world 
knows  less  than  of  my  elevation  by  Colonel  Croix,  —  at  the  risk  of  all,  I 
am  here  and  working  for  you.  Perhaps  I  love  power.  Perhaps  this 
country  with  its  strange  unimaginable  future.  Perhaps  I  merely  love 
politics,  which  you  have  glorified  —  perhaps  —  well,  when  we  do  meet, 
sir,  you  will  avoid  me  no  longer.  Do  you  find  me  lacking  in  pride  ? 
Reflect  how  another  woman  would  have  pursued  you  with  love-letters, 
persecuted  you.  I  have  exercised  a  restraint  that  has  left  its  mark,  not 
only  out  of  pride  for  myself,  but  out  of  a  deep  understanding  of  your 
multitude  of  anxieties  and  interests ;  nor  should  I  dare  to  think  of  you 
at  all  were  I  not  so  sure  of  my  power  to  help  you  —  now  and  always. 
Think,  sir,  of  what  such  a  partnership  —  of  which  the  world  should  never 
be  cognizant  —  would  mean.  I  purpose  to  have  a  salon,  and  it  shall  be 
largely  composed  of  your  enemies.  Not  a  secret  but  that  shall  yield  to 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  293 

me,  not  a  conspiracy  but  that  you  shall  be  able  to  forestall  in  time.  I 
believe  that  I  was  born  devoted  to  your  interests.  Heart  and  soul  I 
shall  be  devoted  to  them  as  long  as  I  live,  and  whether  I  am  permitted 
to  know  you  or  not.  I  could  ruin  you  if  I  chose.  I  feel  that  I  have  the 
power  within  me  even  for  that.  But  God  forbid  !  I  should  have  gone 
mad  first.  But  ask  yourself,  sir,  if  I  could  not  be  of  vital  assistance  to 
your  career,  did  we  work  in  common.  And  ask  yourself  other  things  — 
and  truthfully.  j?  Q  £ 

P.  S.  In  a  meeting  held  here  last  night  the  two  generals  poured  vials 
of  their  own  molten  iron  into  the  veins  of  the  rank  and  file,  belted  them 
together  in  a  solid  bunch,  vowed  that  you  were  a  dealer  in  the  black 
arts  and  reducing  them  to  knaves  and  fools.  Their  words  sank,  no 
doubt  of  that.  But  I  uprooted  them,  and  blew  them  away.  For  I  pro 
fessed  to  be  seized  with  an  uncontrollable  fit  of  laughter  at  the  nonsense 
of  forty-seven  men  —  the  flower  of  the  State  —  terrified  of  a  bare  third, 
and  of  a  man  but  just  in  his  thirties.  I  rapidly  recounted  your  failures 
in  your  first  Congress,  dwelling  on  them,  harping  on  them  ;  and  then  I 
stood  up  like  a  Chorus,  and  proclaimed  the  victories  of  C's  career.  C, 
who  had  scowled  when  I  went  off  into  hysterics,  almost  knelt  over  my 
hand  at  parting ;  and  the  rest  departed  secure  in  your  fancied  destiny, 
their  waxen  brains  ready  for  your  clever  fingers.  At  least  you  will  ac 
knowledge  the  receipt  of  this,  sir  ?  Conceive  my  anxiety  till  I  know  it 
has  not  fallen  into  the  wrong  hands  ! 

A  messenger  brought  the  note  directly  after  breakfast, 
and  Hamilton  hastily  retreated  with  it  to  the  privacy 
of  his  room.  His  horse  awaited  him,  but  he  read  the 
epistle  no  less  than  four  times.  Once  he  moved  uneasily, 
and  once  he  put  his  hand  to  his  neck  as  if  he  felt  a  silken 
halter.  He  smiled,  but  his  face  flushed  deeply.  Her  bait, 
her  veiled  threat,  affected  him  little.  But  all  that  was  un 
said  pulled  him  like  a  powerful  magnet.  He  struggled  for 
fully  twenty  minutes  with  the  temptation  to  ride  to  that 
paradise  on  the  hill  as  fast  as  his  horse  would  carry  him. 
But  although  he  usually  got  into  mischief  when  absent 
from  Betsey,  contradictorily  he  was  fonder  of  his  wife  when 
she  was  remote ;  moreover,  her  helplessness  appealed  to 
him,  and  he  rejected  the  idea  of  deliberate  disloyalty,  even 
while  his  pulses  hammered  and  the  spirit  of  romance 
within  him  moved  turbulently  in  its  long  sleep.  He 
glanced  out  of  the  window.  Beyond  the  tree-tops  gleamed 
the  river;  above  were  the  hills,  with  their  woods  and  grassy 
intervals.  It  was  an  exquisite  country,  green  and  pri- 


294  THE   CONQUEROR 

meval ;  a  moderate  summer,  the  air  warm  but  electric. 
The  nights  were  magnificent.  Hamilton  dreamed  for  a 
time,  then  burned  the  letter  in  a  fit  of  angry  impatience. 

"  I  have  nothing  better  to  do  !  "  he  thought.  "  Good 
God  !  " 

An  answer  was  imperative.  He  took  a  long  ride  first, 
however,  then  scrawled  a  few  hasty  lines,  as  if  he  had  found 
just  a  moment  in  which  to  read  her  letter,  but  thanking  her 
warmly  for  her  interest  and  information ;  ending  with  a 
somewhat  conscience-stricken  hope  for  the  instructive  de 
light  of  her  personal  acquaintance  when  he  should  find  the 
leisure  to  be  alive  once  more.  So  rested  the  matter  for  a 
time. 

VIII 

That  afternoon  the  very  memory  of  Eliza  Croix  fled 
before  a  mounted  messenger,  who  came  tearing  into  town 
with  word  of  Virginia's  ratification,  of  the  great  excitement 
in  the  cities  of  Richmond,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  New 
York,  the  processions  in  honour  of  this  important  conquest. 
There  were  tales  also  of  fray  and  bloodshed,  in  which  the 
Federals  had  retained  the  field ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the 
country  seemed  wild  with  delight. 

But  although  this  news  did  not  produce  the  visible  effect 
upon  the  opposition  for  which  Hamilton  had  hoped,  the 
anti-Federalist  leaders  were  as  fearful  of  hurrying  the  mat 
ter  to  the  final  vote  as  the  Constitutionalists.  Clinton  stood 
like  a  rock,  but  he  feared  defections  at  the  last  moment,  was 
conscious  that  his  dominance  over  the  minds  of  the  men 
who  had  come  to  the  Convention  believing  implicitly  in  his 
doctrine  that  union  was  unnecessary,  concurring  in  his 
abhorrence  of  the  new  Constitution,  was  snapping  daily,  as 
Hamilton's  arguments  and  acute  logic  fermented  in  their 
clarifying  brains.  Many  began  to  avoid  their  chief.  They 
talked  in  knots  by  themselves.  They  walked  the  forest 
roads  alone  for  hours,  deep  in  thought.  It  was  evident 
that  Hamilton  had  liberated  their  understandings  from 
one  autocrat,  whether  he  had  brought  them  under  his  own 
despotic  will  or  not. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  295 

There  was  no  speaking,  and  little  or  no  business  for  sev 
eral  days.  A  few  more  amendments  would  be  suggested, 
then  an  adjournment.  It  was  like  the  lull  of  the  hurricane, 
when  nervous  people  sit  in  the  very  centre  of  the  storm, 
awaiting  the  terrors  of  its  final  assault. 

Hamilton  had  much  leisure  for  several  days,  but  he  was 
too  deeply  anxious  to  give  more  than  a  passing  thought  to 
Mrs.  Croix,  although  he  was  grateful  for  the  help  he  knew 
she  was  rendering  him.  "  If  we  were  Turks,"  he  thought 
once,  "  she  would  be  an  invaluable  member  of  a  harem. 
She  never  could  fill  my  domestic  needs,  which  are  capa 
cious  ;  most  certainly  I  should  never,  at  any  time,  have 
chosen  her  for  the  mother  of  my  children ;  but  as  an  intel 
lectual  and  political  partner,  as  a  confidante  and  counsellor, 
she  would  appeal  to  me  very  keenly.  I  talk  to  Betsey, 
dear  child,  because  I  must  talk,  because  I  have  an  egotisti 
cal  craving  for  response,  but  I  must  bore  her  very  often, 
and  I  am  not  conscious  of  ever  having  received  a  sugges 
tion  from  her  —  however,  God  knows  I  am  grateful  for  her 
sympathy.  As  the  children  grow  older  I  shall  have  less 
and  less  of  her ;  already  I  appreciate  the  difference.  She 
will  always  have  the  core  of  my  soul  and  the  fealty  of  my 
heart,  but  it  is  rather  a  pity  that  man  should  be  given  so 
many  sides  with  their  corresponding  demands,  if  no  one 
woman  is  to  be  found  able  to  respond  to  all.  As  for  this 
remarkable  creature,  I  could  imagine  myself  in  a  state  of 
mad  infatuation,  and  seeking  her  constantly  for  the  delight 
of  mental  companionship  besides ;  but  the  highest  and 
best,  if  I  have  them  —  oh,  no!  Perhaps  the  Turks  are 
wiser  than  we,  after  all,  for  their  wives  suffer  only  from 
jealousy,  while  —  most  men  being  Turks  on  one  plan  or 
another — the  women  of  the  more  advanced  races  suffer 
from  humiliation,  and  are  wounded  in  their  deepest  senti 
ments.  All  of  which  goes  to  prove,  that  the  longer  I  delay 
a  meeting  with  this  high-priestess  the  better. 

In  a  day  or  two  he  was  hard  at  work  again  fighting 
the  last  desperate  battle.  The  oppositionists  had  brought 
forward  a  new  form  of  conditional  ratification,  with  a  bill 
of  rights  prefixed,  and  amendments  subjoined.  This,  it 


296  THE   CONQUEROR 

would  seem,  was  their  proudest  achievement,  and,  in  a 
long  and  adroit  speech,  Melancthon  Smith  announced  it 
as  their  final  decision.  That  was  at  midday.  Hamilton 
rose  at  once,  and  in  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  compre 
hensive  speeches  he  had  yet  made,  demonstrated  the  absurd 
ity  of  conditional  ratification,  or  the  power  of  Congress  to 
indorse  it.  It  was  a  close,  legal,  and  constitutional  argu 
ment,  and  with  the  retorts  of  the  anti-Federalists  occupied 
two  days,  during  which  Hamilton  stood  most  of  the  time, 
alert,  resourceful,  master  of  every  point  of  the  vast  sub 
ject,  to  which  he  gave  an  almost  embarrassing  simplicity. 
On  the  third  day  occurred  his  first  signal  triumph  and  the 
confounding  of  Clinton :  Melancthon  Smith  stood  up  and 
admitted  that  Hamilton  had  convinced  him  of  the  impos 
sibility  of  conditional  ratification.  Lansing  immediately 
offered  as  a  substitute  for  the  motion  withdrawn,  another, 
by  which  the  State  ratify  but  reserve  to  itself  the  right  to 
secede  after  a  certain  number  of  years,  unless  the  amend 
ments  proposed  should  previously  be  submitted  to  a  general 
convention. 

Adjournment  followed,  and  Hamilton  and  his  leaders 
held  a  long  consultation  at  the  Livingston  mansion,  as  a 
result  of  which  he  wrote  that  night  to  Madison,  now  in 
New  York,  asking  his  advice  as  to  the  sort  of  ratification 
proposed  by  the  enemy.  It  was  a  course  he  by  no  means 
approved,  but  it  seemed  the  less  of  two  evils ;  for  if,  by 
hook  or  crook,  the  Constitution  could  be  forced  through, 
the  good  government  which  would  ensue  was  bound  to 
break  up  the  party  of  the  opposition.  He  had  a  trump, 
but  he  hesitated  to  resort  to  a  coercion  so  high-handed 
and  arbitrary.  His  supposed  monarchical  aspirations  were 
hurled  at  him  daily,  and  he  must  proceed  with  the  utmost 
caution,  lest  his  future  usefulness  be  impaired  at  the  out 
set. 

Madison  replied  at  once  that  such  a  proposition  could  not 
be  considered,  for  only  unconditional  ratification  was  con 
stitutional;  but  before  his  letter  arrived  Hamilton  and 
Smith  had  had  another  hot  debate,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  anti-Federalist  leader  declared  himself  wholly  beaten, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  297 

and  announced  his  intention  to  vote  for  the  unconditional 
acceptance  of  the  Constitution. 

But  although  there  was  consternation  in  the  ranks  of  the 
anti-Federalists  at  this  momentous  defection,  Clinton  stood 
like  an  old  lion  at  bay,  with  his  other  leaders  behind  him, 
his  wavering  ranks  still  coherent  under  his  practised  manip 
ulation.  For  several  days  more  the  battle  raged,  and  on 
the  night  before  what  promised  to  be  the  day  of  the  final 
vote,  Hamilton  received  a  note  from  Mrs.  Croix. 

July  24. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  case  is  more  desperate  than  you  think.  The 
Weakening  caused  by  the  defection  of  the  great  Lieutenant  has  been 
counteracted  in  large  measure  by  the  General.  His  personal  influence  is 
enormous,  his  future  like  yours  is  at  stake  ;  he  is  desperate.  It  all  rests 
with  you.  Make  your  great  and  final  effort  to-morrow.  It  is  a  wonderful 
responsibility,  sir — the  whole  future  of  this  country  dependent  upon  what 
flows  from  your  brain  a  few  hours  hence,  but  as  you  have  won  other  great 
victories  by  efforts  almost  unprecedented,  so  you  will  win  this.  I  am 
not  so  presumptuous  as  to  write  this  to  inspire  you.  merely  to  assure 
you  of  a  gravity,  which,  after  so  long  and  energetic  a  contest,  you  might 
be  disposed  to  underrate. 

Hamilton  was  very  grateful  for  this  note,  and  answered 
it  more  warmly  than  had  been  his  habit.  His  friends  were 
deep  in  gloomy  prognostications,  for  it  was  impossible  to 
delay  twenty-four  hours  longer.  He  had  made  converts, 
but  not  enough  to  secure  a  majority;  and  his  followers 
did  not  conceive  that  even  he  could  put  forth  an  effort 
more  convincing  or  more  splendid  than  many  of  his 
previous  achievements.  In  consequence,  his  susceptible 
nature  had  experienced  a  chill,  for  he  was  Gallic  enough 
to  compass  greater  things  under  the  stimulus  of  encourage 
ment  and  prospective  success  ;  but  this  unquestioning  belief 
in  him  by  a  woman  for  whose  mind  he  was  beginning  to 
experience  a  profound  admiration,  sent  his  quicksilver  up 
to  a  point  where  he  felt  capable  of  all  things.  She  had 
scored  one  point  for  herself.  He  felt  that  it  would  be 
unpardonable  longer  to  accept  such  favours  as  she 
showered  upon  him  unsought,  and  make  no  acknowledg 
ment  beyond  a  civil  note :  he  expressed  his  desire  to  call 
upon  her  when  they  were  both  in  New  York  once  more. 


298  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  But  not  here  in  Arcadia !  "  he  thought.  "  I'll  call  for 
mally  at  her  lodgings  and  take  Troup  or  Morris  with  me. 
Morris  will  doubtless  abduct  her,  and  that  will  be  the  end 
of  it." 

IX 

On  the  following  day  every  shop  was  closed  in  Pough- 
keepsie.  The  men,  even  many  of  the  women,  stood  for 
hours  in  the  streets,  talking  little,  their  eyes  seldom  wander 
ing  from  the  Court-house,  many  of  them  crowding  close  to 
the  walls,  that  they  might  catch  a  ringing  phrase  now  and 
again.  By  this  time  they  all  knew  Hamilton's  voice,  and 
they  confessed  to  a  preference  for  his  lucid  precision.  In 
front  of  the  Court-house,  under  a  tree,  an  express  messenger 
sat  beside  his  horse,  saddled  for  a  wild  dash  to  New  York 
with  the  tidings.  The  excitement  seemed  the  more  intense 
for  the  heat  of  the  day,  which  half  suppressed  it,  and  all 
longed  for  the  snap  of  the  tension. 

Within  the  upper  room  of  the  Court-house  the  very  air 
vibrated.  Clinton,  who  always  grunted  at  intervals,  and 
blew  his  nose  stentoriously  when  fervescent,  was  unusually 
aggressive.  Beyond  the  bar  men  and  women  stood  ;  there 
was  no  room  for  chairs,  nor  for  half  that  desired  admittance. 
In  the  very  front  stood  the  only  woman  whose  superb 
physique  carried  her  through  that  trying  day  without  smell 
ing-salts  or  a  friendly  shoulder.  She  was  a  woman  with 
the  eyes  of  an  angel,  disdainful  of  men,  the  mouth  of 
insatiety,  the  hair  and  skin  of  a  Lorelei,  and  a  patrician 
profile.  Her  figure  was  long,  slender,  and  voluptuous. 
Every  man  within  the  bar  offered  her  his  chair,  but  she 
refused  to  sit  while  other  women  stood  ;  and  few  were  the 
regrets  at  the  more  ample  display  of  her  loveliness. 

Hamilton  and  Lansing  debated  with  a  lively  exchange 
of  acrimonious  wit.  Smith  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  Con 
stitution.  Then  Hamilton  rose  for  what  all  felt  was  to  be 
a  grand  final  effort,  and  even  his  friends  experienced  an 
almost  intolerable  excitement.  On  the  other  side  men 
trembled  visibly  with  apprehension,  not  so  much  in  fear 
of  the  result  as  of  the  assault  upon  their  nervous  systems. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  299 

They  hardly  could  have  felt  worse  if  on  their  way  to  exe 
cution,  but  not  a  man  left  his  seat ;  the  fascination  was 
too  strong  to  induce  even  a  desire  to  avoid  it. 

Hamilton  began  dispassionately  enough.  He  went  over 
the  whole  Constitution  rapidly,  yet  in  so  emphatic  a  manner 
as  to  accomplish  the  intelligent  subservience  of  his  audience. 
Then,  with  the  unexaggerated  eloquence  of  which  he  was 
so  consummate  a  master,  he  pictured  the  beauty,  the  hap 
piness,  the  wealth  of  the  United  States  under  the  new 
Constitution ;  of  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  half  a  million 
homes ;  of  the  uninterrupted  industry  of  her  great  cities, 
their  ramifications  to  countless  hamlets ;  of  the  good-will 
and  honour  of  Europe  ;  of  a  vast  international  trade  ;  of  a 
restored  credit  at  home  and  abroad,  which  should  lift  the 
heavy  clouds  from  the  future  of  every  ambitious  man  in 
the  Republic ;  of  a  peace  between  the  States  which  would 
tend  to  the  elevation  of  the  American  character,  as  the 
bitter,  petty,  warring,  and  perpetual  jealousies  had  incon- 
testably  lowered  it;  of,  for  the  beginning  of  their  ex 
periment,  at  least  eight  years  of  harmony  under  George 
Washington. 

He  spoke  for  two  hours  in  the  glowing  terms  of  a 
prophecy  and  an  optimism  so  alluring,  that  load  after 
load  seemed  to  roll  from  the  burdened  minds  opposite, 
although  Clinton  snorted  as  if  about  to  thrust  down  his 
head  and  paw  the  earth.  When  Hamilton  had  made  his 
hearers  thoroughly  drunk  with  dreams  of  an  ecstatic  future, 
he  advanced  upon  them  suddenly,  and,  without  a  word  of 
warning  transition,  poured  upon  them  so  terrible  a  picture 
of  the  consequences  of  their  refusal  to  enter  the  Union, 
that  for  the  first  few  'moments  they  were  ready  to  leap 
upon  him  and  wrench  him  apart.  The  assault  was  terrific, 
and  he  plunged  on  remorselessly.  He  sketched  the  miseries 
of  the  past  eleven  years,  the  poverty,  the  dangers,  the  dis 
honour,  and  then  by  the  most  precise  and  logical  deduction 
presented  a  future  which,  by  the  commonest  natural  and 
social  laws,  must,  without  the  protection  of  a  high  and 
central  power,  be  the  hideous  finish.  The  twilight  came ; 
the  evening  breeze  was  rustling  through  the  trees  and 


300  THE   CONQUEROR 

across  the  sultry  room.  As  Hamilton  had  calculated,  the 
moment  came  when  he  had  his  grip  on  the  very  roots  of 
the  enemy's  nerves.  Chests  were  rising,  handkerchiefs 
appearing.  Women  fainted.  Clinton  blew  his  nose  with 
such  terrific  force  that  the  messenger  below  scrambled  to 
his  feet.  Hamilton  waited  during  a  breathless  moment, 
then  charged  down  upon  them. 

"Now  listen,  gentlemen,"  he  said.  "No  one  so  much 
as  I  wishes  that  this  Constitution  be  ratified  to  the  honour 
of  the  State  of  New  York;  but  upon  this  I  have  deter 
mined  :  that  the  enlightened  and  patriotic  minority  shall 
not  suffer  for  the  selfishness  and  obstinacy  of  the  majority. 
I  therefore  announce  to  you  plainly,  gentlemen,  that  if 
you  do  not  ratify  this  Constitution,  with  no  further  talk  of 
impossible  amendments  and  conditions,  that  Manhattan 
Island,  Westchester,  and  Kings  counties  shall  secede  from 
the  State  of  New  York  and  form  a  State  by  themselves, 
leaving  the  rest  of  your  State  without  a  seaport,  too  con 
temptible  to  make  treaties,  with  only  a  small  and  possibly 
rebellious  militia  to  protect  her  northern  boundaries  from 
the  certain  rapacity  of  Great  Britain,  with  the  scorn  and 
dislike  of  the  Union,  and  with  no  hope  of  assistance  from 
the  Federal  Government,  which  is  assured,  remember,  no 
matter  what  her  straits.  That  is  all." 

It  was  enough.  He  had  won  the  day.  The  Constitution 
was  ratified  without  further  parley. 

X 

Hamilton  reentered  New  York  to  the  blaze  of  bonfires, 
the  salute  of  cannon,  and  the  deafening  shouts  of  a  multi 
tude  that  escorted  him  to  his  doorway.  Betsey  was  so 
proud  of  him  she  hardly  could  speak  for  a  day,  and  his 
library  was  flooded  with  letters  of  congratulation  from  all 
parts  of  the  Union.  For  several  days  he  shut  himself  up 
with  his  family  and  a  few  friends,  for  he  needed  the  rest ; 
and  the  relaxation  was  paradisal.  He  played  marbles  and 
spun  tops  with  his  oldest  boys,  and  dressed  and  undressed 
Angelica's  doll  as  often  as  his  imperious  daughter  com- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  301 

manded.  Troup  and  Fish,  now  the  dignified  Adjutant- 
General  of  State,  with  his  bang  grown  long  and  his  hair 
brushed  back,  spent  hours  with  him  in  the  heavy  shades 
of  the  garden,  or  tormenting  a  monkey  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fence.  Madison  came  at  once  to  wrangle  with  him  over 
the  temporary  seat  of  government,  and  demanded  the  spare 
bedroom,  protesting  he  had  too  much  to  say  to  waste  time 
travelling  back  and  forth.  He  was  a  welcome  guest ;  and 
he,  too,  sat  on  the  floor  and  dressed  Angelica's  doll. 

The  city  was  en  fete,  and  little  business  was  transacted 
except  at  the  public  houses.  Bands  of  citizens  awoke 
Hamilton  from  his  sleep,  shouting  for  "  Alexander  the 
Great."  Anti-Federalists  got  so  drunk  that  they  embraced 
the  Federalists,  and  sang  on  Hamilton's  doorstep.  The 
hero  retreated  to  the  back  room  on  the  top  floor.  The 
climax  came  on  the  5th  of  August,  in  the  great  proces 
sion,  with  which,  after  the  fashion  of  other  triumphant 
cities,  New  York  was  to  demonstrate  in  honour  of  the  vic 
tory  of  the  Constitution. 

But,  unlike  its  predecessors,  this  procession  was  as 
much  in  honour  of  one  man  as  of  the  triumph  of  a  great 
principle.  To  have  persuaded  New  York,  at  that  time, 
that  Hamilton  had  not  written  the  Constitution,  and 
secured  its  ratification  in  the  eleven  States  of  the  Union 
by  his  unaided  efforts,  would  have  been  a  dissipation  of 
energy  in  August  which  even  Clinton  would  not  have  at 
tempted.  To  them  Hamilton  was  the  Constitution,  Feder 
alism,  the  genius  of  the  new  United  States.  And  he  was 
their  very  own.  "Virginia  has  her  Madison,"  they  reiter 
ated,  "Massachusetts  her  Adamses  —  and  may  she  keep 
them  and  be  damned ;  other  States  may  think  they  have 
produced  a  giant,  and  those  that  do  not  can  fall  back  on 
Washington ;  but  Hamilton  is  ours,  we  adore  him,  we  are 
so  proud  of  him  we  are  like  to  burst,  and  we  can  never  ex 
press  our  gratitude,  try  as  we  may ;  so  we'll  show  him  an 
honour  that  no  other  State  has  thought  of  showing  to  any 
particular  man." 

And  of  the  sixth  of  New  York's  thirty  thousand  inhab 
itants  that  turned  out  on  that  blazing  August  day  and 


302  THE   CONQUEROR 

marched  for  hours,  that  all  the  eager  city  might  see,  at 
least  two-thirds  bore  a  banner  emblazoned  with  Hamilton's 
portrait  or  name,  held  on  high.  The  procession  was  ac 
companied  by  a  military  escort;  and  every  profession,  every 
trade,  was  represented.  A  large  proportion  of  the  men 
who  marched  were  gentlemen.  Nicolas  Fish  was  on  the 
staff  of  the  grand  marshal,  with  six  of  his  friends.  Robert 
Troup  and  two  other  prominent  lawyers  bore,  on  a  cushion, 
the  new  Constitution,  magnificently  engrossed.  Nicolas 
Cruger,  Hamilton's  old  employer,  again  a  resident  of  New 
York,  led  the  farmers,  driving  a  plough  drawn  by  three  yoke 
of  oxen.  Baron  Polnitz  displayed  the  wonders  of  the  newly 
perfected  threshing-machine.  John  Watts,  a  man  who  had 
grown  gray  in  the  highest  offices  of  New  York,  before  and 
since  the  Revolution,  guided  a  harrow,  drawn  by  horses  and 
oxen.  The  president,  regents,  professors,  and  students  of 
Columbia  College,  all  in  academic  dress,  were  followed  by 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  members  of  the  bar. 
The  many  societies,  led  by  the  Cincinnati,  followed,  each 
bearing  an  appropriate  banner. 

And  in  the  very  centre  of  that  pageant,  gorgeous  in 
colour  and  costume,  from  the  green  of  the  foresters  to  the 
white  of  the  florists,  was  the  great  Federal  ship,  with 
HAMILTON,  HAMILTON,  HAMILTON,  HAMIL 
TON,  emblazoned  on  every  side  of  it.  In  the  memory  of 
the  youngest  present  there  was  to  be  but  one  other  proces 
sion  in  New  York  so  imposing,  and  that,  too,  was  in  hon 
our  of  Hamilton. 

He  stood  on  a  balcony  in  the  Broadway,  with  his  family, 
Madison,  Baron  Steuben,  and  the  Schuylers,  bowing  con 
stantly  to  the  salutes  and  cheers.  Nicolas  Cruger  looked 
up  and  grinned.  Fish  winked  decorously,  and  Troup  at 
tempted  a  salaam,  and  nearly  dropped  the  Constitution. 
But  Hamilton's  mind  served  him  a  trick  for  a  moment; 
the  vivid  procession,  with  his  face  and  name  fluttering 
above  five  thousand  heads,  the  compact  mass  of  spectators, 
proud  and  humble,  that  crowded  the  pavements  and 
waved  their  handkerchiefs  toward  him,  the  patriotically 
decorated  windows  filled  with  eager,  often  beautiful,  faces, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  303 

disappeared,  and  he  stood  in  front  of  Cruger's  store  on  Bay 
Street,  with  his  hands  in  his  linen  pockets,  gazing  out  over 
a  blinding  glare  of  water,  passionately  wishing  for  the  war 
ship  which  never  came,  to  deliver  him  from  his  Island 
prison  and  carry  him  to  the  gates  of  the  real  world  beyond. 
He  had  been  an  ambitious  boy,  but  nothing  in  his  imagin 
ings  had  projected  him  to  the  dizzy  eminence  on  which  he 
stood  to-day.  He  was  recalled  by  the  salute  of  the  Fed 
eral  ship's  thirteen  guns  to  the  president  of  the  Congress 
and  its  members,  who  stood  on  the  fort  in  the  Battery. 

After  all,  perhaps  it  was  the  proudest  and  the  happiest 
day  of  his  career,  for  the  depths  in  his  nature  still  slum 
bered,  the  triumph  was  without  alloy ;  and  he  knew  that 
there  were  other  heights  to  scale,  and  that  he  should  scale 
them.  It  was  the  magnificent  and  spontaneous  tribute  of 
an  intelligent  people  to  an  enlightened  patriotism,  to  years 
of  severe  and  unselfish  thought ;  and  hardly  an  enemy 
grudged  him  his  deserts.  The  wild  feeling  of  exultant 
triumph  which  surged  behind  his  smiling  face  receded  be 
fore  the  rising  swell  of  the  profoundest  gratitude  he  had 
ever  known. 

The  day  finished  with  a  great  banquet  at  Mr.  Bayard's 
country-seat,  near  Grand  Street,  where  tables  were  spread 
for  six  thousand  persons,  in  a  pavilion  surmounted  by  an 
image  of  Fame,  and  decorated  with  the  colours  of  the 
nations  that  had  formed  treaties  with  the  United  States. 
Later,  there  was  a  grand  display  of  fireworks. 

XI 

On  the  following  day  Hamilton  went  to  Albany  to  marcH 
at  the  head  of  a  Federal  procession  with  General  Schuyler, 
then  returned  to  "  Hamiltonopolis "  and  such  legal  work 
as  he  was  permitted  to  accomplish ;  for  not  only  were 
leaders  consulting  him  on  every  possible  question  from 
the  coming  elections  to  the  proper  seat  for  the  new  gov 
ernment,  and  his  duties  as  a  member  of  Congress  press 
ing,  but  Edward  Stevens,  now  established  as  a  doctor  in 
Philadelphia,  paid  him  a  visit  of  a  week,  and  they  talked 


304  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  night  through  of  St.  Croix  and  old  times.  One  of  the 
pleasantest  results  of  these  years  of  supremacy  was  the 
unqualified  delight  of  his  Island  friends.  Hugh  Knoxwas 
so  proud  of  him,  and  of  himself  and  the  debt  which  Ham 
ilton  acknowledged,  that  he  wrote  explosive  reams  describ 
ing  the  breathless  interest  of  St.  Croix  in  his  career,  and 
of  the  distinguished  gatherings  at  the  Governor's  when  he 
arrived  with  one  of  their  lost  citizen's  infrequent  epistles. 
Mrs.  Mitchell,  poor  soul,  wrote  pathetically  that  she  would 
no  longer  regret  his  loss  could  she  love  him  less.  Hamilton 
wrote  to  her  as  often  as  he  could  find  the  time,  and  Betsey 
selected  a  present  for  her  several  times  a  year.  Gratitude 
is  the  privilege  of  a  great  soul,  and  Hamilton  had  a  full 
measure  of  it.  Even  his  father  and  brother  wrote  occasion 
ally,  respectfully,  if  with  no  great  warmth  ;  and  if  their 
congratulations  were  usually  accompanied  by  the  experi 
mental  sigh  of  poverty,  Hamilton  was  glad  to  respond,  for 
at  this  period  he  was  making  a  good  deal  of  money. 

His  promised  bow  to  Mrs.  Croix  he  deferred  from  day 
to  day,  pleading  to  himself  the  pressure  of  work,  which 
was  submerging;  but  while  he  reproached  himself  for 
ingratitude,  he  knew  that  he  dreaded  the  meeting :  the 
old  spirit  of  adventure  within  him,  long  quiescent,  tapped 
alluringly  on  the  doors  of  his  prudence.  That  she  did  not 
write  again,  even  to  congratulate  him  as  other  friends  had 
done,  but  added  to  his  discomfort,  for  he  knew  that  her 
pride  was  now  in  arms,  and  that  she  must  be  deeply 
wounded.  He  heard  of  her  constantly,  and  at  the  proces 
sion  in  his  honour  he  had  seen  her,  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
General  Knox,  a  dazzling,  but  angelic  vision  in  blue  and 
white,  at  which  even  the  bakers,  wig-makers,  foresters, 
tanners,  and  printers  had  turned  to  stare.  One  of  the 
latter  had  leaped  down  from  the  moving  platform  on  which 
he  was  printing  a  poem  of  occasion  by  William  Duer,  and 
begged  her  on  his  knee  to  deign  to  receive  a  copy.  She 
held  weekly  receptions,  which  were  attended  by  two-thirds 
of  the  leading  men  in  town,  and  Hamilton's  intimate 
friends  discoursed  of  her  constantly.  Croix  was  supposed 
to  have  been  seized  with  a  passion  for  travelling  in  savage 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  305 

jungles,  and  it  was  the  general  belief  that  his  death  would 
be  announced  as  soon  as  the  lady  should  find  it  convenient 
to  go  into  mourning.  It  was  plain  to  the  charitable  that 
he  had  left  her  with  plenty  of  money,  for  she  dressed  like 
the  princess  she  looked,  and  her  entertainments  lacked 
no  material  attraction.  The  gossip  was  more  furious  than 
ever,  but  the  most  assiduous  scandal-monger  could  connect 
no  one  man  with  her  name,  nor  trace  her  income  to  other 
than  its  reputed  source.  More  than  once  Hamilton  had 
passed  her  coach,  and  she  had  bowed  gravely,  with  neither 
challenge  nor  reproach  in  her  sweet  haughty  eyes.  After 
these  quick  passings  Hamilton  usually  gave  Her  a  few 
moments  of  intense  thought.  He  marvelled  at  her  curious 
intimate  knowledge  of  him,  not  only  of  the  less  known  epi 
sodes  of  his  career,  but  of  more  than  one  of  his  mental 
processes.  It  is  true,  she  might  have  led  Troup  or  Fish 
into  gossip  and  analysis,  but  her  sympathy  counted 
heavily.  She  drew  him  by  many  strings,  and  some 
times  the  response  thrilled  him  unbearably.  He  felt  like 
a  man  who  stood  outside  the  gates  of  Paradise,  bolting 
them  fast.  Still,  he  could  quite  forget  her  in  his  work ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  but  for  chance  he  never  would 
have  met  her,  that  one  of  the  greatest  disasters  in  history 
would  have  been  averted. 

Betsey,  who  had  not  been  well  for  some  time,  went  to 
the  northern  forests  of  her  old  home  to  strive  for  "spring" 
and  colour.  She  took  the  children  with  her,  and  Hamil 
ton,  who  hated  to  live  alone,  filled  his  deserted  rooms  with 
Troup,  Fish,  and  Baron  Steuben,  whose  claims  he  had  been 
pressing  upon  Congress  for  years,  practically  supporting 
him  meanwhile.  The  old  soldier  felt  keenly  the  ingrati 
tude  of  the  country  he  had  served,  but  in  time  it  made  him 
ample  compensation ;  meanwhile  the  devotion  of  a  few 
friends,  and  the  lionizing  of  society,  helped  him  to  bear 
his  lot  with  considerable  fortitude.  He  spent  hours  in  the 
nursery  of  the  little  Hamiltons,  and  was  frequently  seen 
in  the  Broadway  with  one  in  his  arms  and  the  other  three 
attached  to  his  person. 

All  the  talk  was  of  Washington  and  the  first  administration, 


306  THE  CONQUEROR 

Hamilton  having  carried  his  point  in  Congress  that  New 
York  should  be  the  temporary  seat  of  government ;  there 
was  jealousy  and  wrangling  over  this,  as  over  most  other 
matters  involving  state  pride,  but  Hamilton  believed  that 
should  the  prize  fall  to  Philadelphia,  she  would  not  relin 
quish  it  as  lightly  as  New  York,  which  geographically  was 
the  more  unfit  for  a  permanent  gathering,  and  that  the 
inconvenience  to  which  most  of  the  members,  in  those  days 
of  difficult  travel  over  a  vast  area,  would  be  subjected, 
would  force  them  the  sooner  to  agree  upon  a  central  and 
commonly  agreeable  locality,  —  one,  moreover,  which  would 
not  meet  with  the  violent  opposition  of  New  York.  Madi 
son,  who  had  been  in  favour  of  Philadelphia,  finally  ac 
knowledged  Hamilton's  sagacity  and  gave  him  his  influence 
and  vote. 

That  point  settled,  all  eyes  were  turned  to  Mount  Ver- 
non.  The  masses  took  for  granted  that  Washington 
would  respond  to  every  call  of  duty  the  public  chose 
to  make,  and  it  was  inconceivable  that  anyone  else  should 
fill  the  first  term  of  that  great  executive  experiment. 
The  universal  confidence  in  Washington  and  belief  that 
he  was  to  guide  the  Constitution  over  the  more  critical  of 
its  shoals,  had  operated  more  than  any  other  factor  in 
the  ratification  of  that  adventurous  instrument.  It  was  a 
point  upon  which  Hamilton  had  harped  continually.  That 
a  whole  country  should  turn,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  a  man 
whom  they  revered  for  his  virtues  rather  than  for  any  brill 
iant  parts  he  may  have  effectually  hidden  within  his  cold 
and  silent  exterior,  their  harmonious  choice  unbroken  by 
an  argument  against  the  safety  and  dignity  of  the  country 
in  the  hands  of  such  a  man,  certainly  is  a  manifest  of  the 
same  elevation  of  tone  that  we  infer  from  the  great  popu 
larity  of  the  writings  of  Hamilton  and  the  deference  to 
such  men  as  Jay  and  Philip  Schuyler.  But  although  they 
had  all  the  faults  of  human  nature,  our  forefathers,  and 
were  often  selfish  and  jealous  to  a  degree  that  imperilled 
the  country,  at  least  they  had  the  excuse,  not  only  of  being 
mere  mortals,  but  of  living  in  an  era  of  such  changes, 
uncertainty,  and  doubt,  that  public  and  private  interests 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  307 

seemed  hopelessly  tangled.  '  They  were  not  debased  by 
political  corruption  until  Jefferson  took  them  in  hand,  and 
sowed  the  bountiful  crop  which  has  fattened  so  vast  and 
so  curious  a  variation  upon  the  original  American. 

The  Federal  leaders  by  no  means  shared  the  confidence 
of  the  people  in  Washington's  response  to  their  call,  and 
they  were  deeply  uneasy.  They  knew  that  he  had  been 
bombarded  with  letters  for  a  year,  urging  upon  him  the 
acceptance  of  the  great  office  which  would  surely  be  offered 
him,  and  that  he  had  replied  cautiously  to  each  that  he 
could  not  share  their  opinion  of  his  indispensability,  that  he 
had  earned  the  repose  he  loved  after  a  lifetime  spent  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  and  had  no  desire  to  return  to 
public  life.  Hamilton,  at  least,  knew  the  motive  that  lay 
behind  his  evasion  ;  without  ambition,  he  was  very  jealous 
of  his  fame.  That  fame  now  was  not  only  one  of  the 
most  resplendent  in  history,  but  as  unassailable  as  it  was 
isolated.  He  feared  the  untried  field  in  which  he  might 
fail. 

One  evening,  late  in  September,  as  Hamilton  and 
his  temporary  household  were  entering  the  dining  room, 
Gouverneur  Morris  drove  down  Wall  Street  in  his  usual 
reckless  fashion,  scattering  dogs  and  children,  and  pulling 
his  nervous  sweating  horses  almost  to  their  haunches,  as 
he  reached  Hamilton's  door.  As  he  entered  the  house, 
however,  and  received  the  enthusiastic  welcome  to  which 
he  was  accustomed,  his  bearing  was  as  unruffled  as  if  he 
had  walked  down  from  Morrisania  reading  a  breviary. 

"  I  grow  desperately  lonely  and  bored  out  on  my  ances 
tral  domain,  and  long  for  the  glare  and  glitter,  the 
intrigues  and  women,  of  Europe  —  our  educated  ones  are 
so  virtuous,  and  the  others  write  such  shockingly  ungram- 
matical  notes,"  he  announced,  as  he  took  his  seat  at  the 
board.  "  Educated  virtue  is  beneficial  for  the  country, 
but  we  will  all  admit  that  politics  are  our  only  excitement, 
and  my  blood  dances  when  I  think  of  Europe.  However, 
I  did  not  come  tearing  through  the  woods  on  a  hot  night 
to  lament  the  virtue  of  the  American  woman.  I've  written 
to  Washington,  and  he  won't  listen  to  me.  We  all  know 


308  THE    CONQUEROR 

how  many  others  have  written,  including  Lafayette,  I  hear 
And  we  all  know  what  the  consequences  will  be  if  —  say 
John  or  Sam  Adams,  Hancock,  or  Clinton  should  be  our  first 
president.  I  long  for  Paris,  but  I  cannot  leave  the  country 
while  she  is  threatened  with  as  grave  a  peril  as  any  that 
has  beset  her.  Would  that  he  had  a  grain  of  ambition  — 
of  anything  that  a  performer  upon  the  various  chords  of 
human  nature  could  impress.  I  suppose  if  he  were  not  so 
desperately  perfect,  we  should  not  be  in  the  quandary  we 
are,  but  he  would  be  far  easier  to  manage.  As  I  awoke 
from  my  siesta  just  two  hours  ago,  my  brain  was  illumi 
nated  by  the  idea  that  one  man  alone  could  persuade  him  ; 
and  that  was  Alexander  Hamilton.  He  likes  us,  but  he 
loves  you.  If  he  has  a  weak  spot,  it  has  yearned  over  you 
since  you  were  our  infant  prodigy  in  uniform,  with  your 
curls  in  your  eyes.  You  must  take  him  in  hand." 

"  I  have  mentioned  it  to  him,  when  writing  of  other 
things." 

"  He  is  only  too  glad  of  the  excuse  to  evade  a  mere 
mention.  You  must  write  to  him  as  peremptorily  as  only 
you  dare  to  write  to  that  majestic  presence.  Don't  mince 
it.  Don't  be  too  respectful  —  I  was,  because  he  is  the  one 
being  I  am  afraid  of.  So  are  all  the  others.  Besides,  you 
have  the  most  powerful  and  pointed  pen  in  this  country. 
We  have  spoiled  you  until  you  are  afraid  of  no  one  —  if 
you  ever  were.  And  you  know  him  as  no  one  else  does  ; 
you  will  approach  him  from  precisely  the  right  sides.  Your 
duty  is  clear,  and  the  danger  is  appalling.  Besides,  I  want 
to  go  to  Europe.  Promise  me  that  you  will  write  to-night." 

"Very  well,"  said  Hamilton,  laughing.  "I  promise." 
And,  in  truth,  his  mind  had  opened  at  once  to  the  certainty 
that  the  time  was  come  for  him  to  make  the  final  effort  to 
insure  Washington's  acceptance.  He  had  felt,  during  the 
last  weeks,  as  if  burrowing  in  the  very  heart  of  a  moun 
tain  of  work ;  but  his  skin  chilled  as  he  contemplated  the 
opening  of  the  new  government  without  Washington  in  the 
presidential  Chair. 

Two  hours  after  dinner  Morris  escorted  him  to  the 
library  and  shut  him  in,  then  went,  with  his  other  friends, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  309 

to  Fraunces'  tavern,  and  the  house  was  quiet.  Hamilton's 
thoughts  arranged  themselves  rapidly,  and  before  midnight 
he  had  finished  his  letter.  Fortunately  it  has  been  pre 
served,  for  it  is  of  as  vital  an  interest  as  anything  he  ever 
wrote,  not  only  because  it  was  the  determining  factor  in 
Washington's  acceptance  of  an  office  toward  which  he 
looked  with  reluctance  and  dread,  but  because  of  its 
consummate  sagacity  and  of  its  peremptory  tone,  which 
no  man  but  Hamilton  would  have  dared  to  assume  to 
Washington. 
It  ran  :  — 

NEW  YORK,  September,  1788. 

...  I  should  be  deeply  pained,  my  dear  sir,  if  your  scruples  in  re 
gard  to  a  certain  station  should  be  matured  into  a  resolution  to  decline  it ; 
though  I  am  neither  surprised  at  their  existence,  nor  can  I  but  agree  in 
opinion,  that  the  caution  you  observe  in  deferring  an  ultimate  determina 
tion,  is  prudent.  I  have,  however,  reflected  maturely  on  the  subject, 
and  have  come  to  a  conclusion  (in  which  I  feel  no  hesitation),  that 
every  public  and  personal  consideration  will  demand  from  you  an  ac 
quiescence  in  what  will  certainly  be  the  unanimous  wish  of  your  country. 
The  absolute  retreat  which  you  meditated  at  the  close  of  the  late  war 
was  natural,  and  proper.  Had  the  Government  produced  by  the  Revo 
lution  gone  on  in  a  tolerable  train,  it  would  have  been  most  advisable 
to  have  persisted  in  that  retreat.  But  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that  the 
crisis  which  brought  you  again  into  public  view,  left  you  no  alternative 
but  to  comply ;  and  I  am  equally  clear  in  the  opinion,  that  you  are  by 
that  act  pledged  to  take  a  part  in  the  execution  of  the  Government.  I 
am  not  less  convinced,  that  the  impression  of  this  necessity  of  your 
filling  the  station  in  question  is  so  universal,  that  you  run  no  risk  of 
any  uncandid  imputation  by  submitting  to  it.  But  even  if  this  were  not 
the  case,  a  regard  to  your  own  reputation,  as  well  as  to  the  public  good, 
calls  upon  you  in  the  strongest  manner,  to  run  that  risk. 

It  cannot  be  considered  as  a  compliment  to  say,  that  on  your  accep 
tance  of  the  office  of  President,  the  success  of  the  new  Government,  in 
its  commencement,  may  materially  depend.  Your  agency  and  influence 
will  be  not  less  important  in  preserving  it  from  the  future  attacks  of  its 
enemies,  than  they  have  been  in  recommending  it,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  the  adoption  of  the  people.  Independent  of  all  considerations  drawn 
from  this  source,  the  point  of  light  in  which  you  stand  at  home  and 
abroad  will  make  an  infinite  difference  in  the  respectability  with  which 
the  Government  will  begin  its  operations,  in  the  alternative  of  your  being 
or  not  being  at  the  head  of  it.  I  forbear  to  urge  considerations  which 
might  have  a  more  personal  application.  What  I  have  said  will  suffice 
for  the  inferences  I  mean  to  draw. 

First.    In  a  matter  so  essential  to  the  well  being  of  society,  as  the 


3io  THE   CONQUEROR 

prosperity  of  a  newly  instituted  government,  a  citizen  of  so  much  conse 
quence  as  yourself  to  its  success,  has  no  option  but  to  lend  his  services 
if  called  for.  Permit  me  to  say  it  would  be  inglorious,  in  such  a  situa 
tion,  not  to  hazard  the  glory,  however  great,  which  he  might  have  pre 
viously  acquired. 

Secondly.  Your  signature  to  the  proposed  system  pledges  your  judge 
ment  for  its  being  such  an  one  as,  upon  the  whole,  was  worthy  of  the 
public  approbation.  If  it  should  miscarry  (as  men  commonly  decide 
from  success,  or  the  want  of  it),  the  blame  will,  in  all  probability,  be  laid 
on  the  system  itself;  and  the  framers  of  it  will  have  to  encounter  the 
disrepute  of  having  brought  about  a  revolution  in  government,  without 
substituting  anything  that  was  worthy  of  the  effort.  They  pulled  down 
one  Utopia,  it  will  be  said,  to  build  up  another.  This  view  of  the  sub 
ject,  if  I  mistake  not,  my  dear  sir,  will  suggest  to  your  mind  greater  haz 
ard  to  that  fame,  which  must  be  and  ought  to  be  dear  to  you,  in  refusing 
your  future  aid  to  the  system,  than  in  affording  it.  I  will  only  add,  that 
in  my  estimate  of  the  matter,  that  aid  is  indispensable. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  express  these  sentiments,  and  to  lay  before 
you  my  view  of  the  subject.  I  doubt  not  the  considerations  mentioned 
have  fully  occurred  to  you,  and  I  trust  they  will  finally  produce  in  your 
mind  the  same  result  which  exists  in  mine.  I  flatter  myself  the  frank 
ness  with  which  I  have  delivered  myself  will  not  be  displeasing  to  you. 
It  has  been  prompted  by  motives  which  you  could  not  disapprove.  I 
remain,  my  dear  sir, 

With  the  sincerest  respect  and  regard, 

Your  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

A.  HAMILTON. 

XII 

Hamilton  folded  and  sealed  the  letter,  then  determined 
to  take  it  to  the  post-office  himself.  The  night  was  hot 
and  his  head  was  throbbing :  he  had  worked,  dined,  wined, 
talked,  and  written,  since  eight  in  the  morning,  with  no 
interval  for  fresh  air  or  exercise.  He  was  not  tired,  but 
very  nervous,  and  after  he  had  disposed  of  his  letter,  he 
set  off  for  a  stroll  along  the  river  front,  and  walked  for  two 
miles  up  the  quiet  road  on  the  east  side,  listening  to  the  lap 
of  the  water,  and  pausing  to  watch  the  superb  effect  of  the 
moonlight  on  the  bright  ripples  and  on  the  wooded  heights 
of  Long  Island.  The  little  village  of  Brooklyn  twinkled 
here  and  there  for  a  time,  then  lay  like  a  sombre  shadow 
in  the  silences  of  her  forest.  As  he  returned,  there  was 
not  a  light  anywhere,  except  now  and  again  at  a  masthead, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  311 

for  it  was  very  late.  The  clock  in  Trinity  steeple  struck 
one  as  he  reentered  the  town.  He  moved  through  the  nar 
row  dark  and  crooked  streets  with  a  lagging  step,  although 
he  had  walked  briskly  for  the  past  hour.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  sleep  in  him,  and  the  idea  of  his  quiet  room  was 
an  irritation. 

"That  woman  is  on  my  nerves,"  he  thought.  "I've 
written  a  letter  to-night  that  may  bridge  this  country  over 
another  crisis,  and  I  should  be  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  self- 
sufficient  statesman,  or  at  least  excogitating  upon  weighty 
matters ;  and  for  the  last  hour  I've  given  no  thought  to 
anything  but  an  unknown  woman,  who  has  electrified  my  im 
agination  and  my  passions.  Is  there,  perhaps,  more  safety 
in  meeting  her  and  laying  the  ghost  ?  Imagination  plays 
us  such  damnable  tricks.  She  may  have  a  raucous  voice, 
or  too  sharp  a  wit ;  or  she  may  love  another  by  this.  I'll 
ask  Nick  to  take  me  there  to-morrow." 

The  drawing-room  windows  of  the  dwellings  were  but  a 
few  feet  above  the  ground,  and  many  of  them  abutted  on  the 
pavement.  The  narrow  street  was  almost  dark,  in  spite  of 
the  moonlight,  but  Hamilton  saw  that  some  one  sat  at  a 
lower  window  but  a  few  feet  ahead  of  him.  It  was  a  woman, 
for  her  arm  hung  over  the  sill.  There  was  nothing  to  ar 
rest  his  attention  in  the  circumstance,  beyond  the  vague 
beauty  of  the  arm  and  hand,  for  on  these  dog  nights  many 
sat  at  their  windows  until  the  chill  of  early  morning ;  but 
he  suddenly  remembered  that  he  was  in  Pearl  Street.  For 
a  moment  he  meditated  retreat ;  with  no  enthusiasm,  how 
ever.  He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  walked  on,  but  his 
breath  was  short.  As  he  approached  he  could  see  that 
she  was  watching  him,  although  her  face  was  almost  invis 
ible.  He  paused  beneath  the  window,  half  in  defiance,  his 
eyes  striving  to  pierce  the  heavy  shade  of  the  room.  The 
hand  closed  abruptly  about  the  lower  part  of  his  face.  It 
trembled,  but  there  was  as  much  determination  as  warmth 
in  the  finger  tips  ;  and  he  seemed  to  have  been  transported 
suddenly  to  a  field  of  violets. 


3i2  THE   CONQUEROR 

XIII 

"  Nick,"  said  Hamilton,  a  few  evenings  later  as  they  were 
peeling  walnuts,  "  This  is  the  night  on  which  Mrs.  Croix 
receives,  is  it  not  ?  Do  you  attend  ?  I  will  go  with  you. 
The  lady  has  kindly  been  at  pains  to  let  me  know  that  I 
shall  not  be  unwelcome." 

Troup  pushed  back  his  plate  abruptly,  and  Baron  Steuben 
burst  into  a  panegyric.  Fish  replied  that  he  had  not  in 
tended  to  go,  but  should  change  his  mind  for  the  sake  of 
the  sensation  he  must  create  with  such  a  lion  in  tow.  He 
left  the  table  shortly  after,  to  dress,  followed  by  Steuben, 
who  announced  his  intention  to  make  one  of  the  party. 
The  host  and  Troup  were  left  alone. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Hamilton,  smiling.  "  I 
see  you  disapprove  of  something.  Surely  you  have  not 
lost  your  heart —  " 

"Nonsense,"  exclaimed  Troup,  roughly,  "but  I  have 
always  hoped  you  would  never  meet  her." 

"ffaveyou?" 

"  If  you  want  to  know  the  truth  she  has  pumped  me  dry 
about  you.  She  did  it  so  adroitly  that  it  was  some  time 
before  I  discovered  what  she  was  up  to.  At  first  I  won 
dered  if  she  were  a  spy,  and  I  changed  my  first  mind  to 
avoid  her,  determined  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  her  motives. 
I  soon  made  up  my  mind  that  she  was  in  love  with  you, 
and  then  I  began  to  tremble,  for  she  is  not  only  a  very 
witch  of  fascination,  but  she  has  about  forty  times  more 
power  of  loving,  or  whatever  she  chooses  to  call  it,  than 
most  women,  and  every  mental  attraction  and  fastidious 
refinement,  besides.  There  is  not  a  good  woman  in  the 
country  that  could  hold  her  own  against  her.  I  have  no 
wish  to  slander  her,  and  have  never  discussed  her  before  ; 
but  my  instincts  are  strong  enough  to  teach  me  that  a 
woman  whose  whole  exterior  being  is  a  promise,  will  be 
driven  by  the  springs  of  that  promise  to  redeem  her 
pledges.  And  the  talk  of  you  banishes  all  that  regal  calm 
from  her  face  and  lets  the  rest  loose.  I  suppose  I  am  a 
fool  to  tell  you  this,  but  I've  been  haunted  by  the  idea 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  313 

from  the  first  that  if  you  know  this  woman,  disaster  will 
come  of  it.  I  do  not  mean  any  old  woman's  presentiment, 
but  from  what  I  know  of  her  nature  and  yours.  You  do 
astonishingly  few  erratic  things  for  a  genius,  but  in  certain 
conditions  you  are  unbridled,  and  my  only  hope  has  been 
that  the  lightning  in  you  would  strike  at  random  without 
doing  much  harm  —  to  you,  at  all  events.  But  this  volcano 
has  a  brain  in  it,  and  great  force  of  character.  She  will 
either  consume  you,  ruining  your  career,  or  if  you  attempt 
to  leave  her  she  will  find  some  way  to  ruin  you  still.  God 
knows  I'm  no  moralist,  but  I  am  jealous  for  your  genius  and 
your  future.  This  has  been  a  long  speech.  I  hope  you'll 
forgive  it." 

Hamilton  had  turned  pale,  and  he  hacked  at  the  mahog 
any  with  the  point  of  his  knife.  He  made  no  attempt  to 
laugh  off  Troup's  attack.  Troup  watched  him  until  he 
turned  pale  himself.  "  You  have  met  her,"  he  said 
abruptly. 

Hamilton  rose  and  pushed  back  his  chair.  "  I  promise 
you  one  thing,"  he  said:  "that  if  I  happen  to  lose  my 
nethermost  to  Mrs.  Croix,  the  world  shall  never  be  the 
wiser.  That  I  explicitly  promise  you.  I  dislike  extremely 
the  position  in  which  I  put  the  lady  by  these  words,  but 
you  will  admit  that  they  mean  nothing,  that  I  am  but  striv 
ing  to  allay  your  fears  —  which  I  know  to  be  genuine. 
She  will  probably  flout  me.  I  shall  probably  detest  her 
conversation.  But  should  the  contrary  happen,  should  she 
be  what  you  suspect,  and  should  a  part  of  my  nature  which 
has  never  been  completely  accommodated,  annihilate  a  re 
sistance  of  many  months,  at  least  you  have  my  assurance 
that  worse  shall  not  happen." 

Troup  groaned.  "  You  have  so  many  sides  to  satisfy  ! 
Would  that  you  could  have  your  truly  phenomenal  versa 
tility  of  mind  with  a  sweet  simplicity  of  character.  But  we 
are  not  in  the  millennium.  And  as  you  have  not  the  cus 
tomary  failings  of  genius, — ingratitude,  morbidity,  a  dis 
position  to  prevaricate,  a  lack  of  common-sense,  selfishness, 
and  irresponsibility,  —  it  is  easy  for  us  to  forgive  you  the 
one  inevitable  weakness.  Come  to  me  if  you  get  into 


3i4  THE  CONQUEROR 

trouble.     She'd  have  no  mercy  at  my  hands.     I'd  wring 
her  neck." 

Many  people  were  at  their  country-seats,  but  politics 
kept  a  number  of  men  in  town,  and  for  this  political  and 
wholly  masculine  salon  of  Mrs.  Croix,  Gouverneur  Morris 
drove  down  from  Morrisania,  Robert  Livingston  from 
Clermont ;  Governor  Clinton  had  made  it  convenient  to 
remain  a  day  longer  in  New  York.  Dr.  Franklin  had  been 
a  guest  of  my  lady  for  the  past  two  days.  They  were  all, 
with  the  exception  of  Clinton,  in  the  drawing-room,  when 
Hamilton,  Steuben  and  Fish  arrived ;  and  several  of  the 
Crugers,  Colonel  Duer,  General  Knox,  Mayor  Duane, 
Melancthon  Smith,  Mr.  Watts,  Yates,  Lansing,  and  a  half- 
dozen  lesser  lights.  Mrs.  Croix  sat  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  and  her  chair  being  somewhat  higher  and  more  elab 
orate  than  its  companions,  suggested  a  throne  :  Madame 
de  Stael  set  the  fashion  in  many  affectations  which  were 
not  long  travelling  to  America.  In  the  house,  Mrs.  Croix 
discarded  the  hoopskirt,  and  the  classic  folds  of  her  soft 
muslin  gown  revealed  a  figure  as  superb  in  contour  as  it 
was  majestic  in  carriage.  Her  glittering  hair  was  in  a 
tower,  and  the  long  oval  of  her  face  gave  to  this  monstrous 
head-dress  an  air  of  proportion.  Her  brows  and  lashes 
were  black,  her  eyes  the  deepest  violet  that  ever  man  had 
sung,  childlike  when  widely  opened,  but  infinitely  various 
with  a  drooping  lash.  The  nose  was  small  and  aquiline,  fine 
and  firm,  the  nostril  thin  and  haughty.  The  curves  of  her 
mouth  included  a  short  upper  lip,  a  full  under  one,  and  a 
bend  at  the  corners.  There  was  a  deep  cleft  in  the  chin. 
Technically  her  hair  was  auburn ;  when  the  sun  flooded  it 
her  admirers  vowed  they  counted  twenty  shades  of  red, 
yellow,  sorrel,  russet,  and  gold.  Even  under  the  soft  rays 
of  the  candles  it  was  crisp  with  light  and  colour.  The 
dazzling  skin  and  soft  contours  hid  a  jaw  that  denoted 
both  strength  and  appetite,  and  her  sweet  gracious  manner 
gave  little  indication  of  her  imperious  will,  independent 
mind,  and  arrogant  intellect.  She  looked  to  be  twenty- 
eight,  but  was  reputed  to  have  been  born  in  1769.  For 
women  so  endowed  years  have  little  meaning.  They  are 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  315 

born  with  what  millions  of  their  sex  never  acquire,  a  few 
with  the  aid  of  time  and  experience  only.  Nature  had 
fondly  and  diabolically  equipped  her  to  conquer  the  world, 
to  be  one  of  its  successes ;  and  so  she  was  to  the  last  of 
her  ninety-six  years.  Her  subsequent  career  was  as  brill 
iant  in  Europe  as  it  had  been,  and  was  to  be  again,  in 
America.  In  Paris,  Lafayette  was  her  sponsor,  and  she 
counted  princes,  cardinals,  and  nobles  among  her  conquests, 
and  died  in  the  abundance  of  wealth  and  honours.  If  her 
sins  found  her  out,  they  surprised  her  in  secret  only.  To 
the  world  she  gave  no  sign,  and  carried  an  unbroken  spirit 
and  an  unbowed  head  into  a  vault  which  looks  as  if  not 
even  the  trump  of  Judgement  Day  could  force  its  marble 
doors  to  open  and  its  secrets  to  come  forth.  But  those 
doors  closed  behind  her  seventy-seven  years  later,  when  the 
greatest  of  her  victims  had  been  dust  half  a  century,  and 
many  others  were  long  since  forgotten.  To-night,  in  her 
glorious  triumphant  womanhood  she  had  no  thought  of 
vaults  in  the  cold  hillside  of  Trinity,  and  when  Hamilton 
entered  the  room,  she  rose  and  courtesied  deeply.  Then, 
as  he  bent  over  her  hand  :  "  At  last !  Is  it  you  ?  "  she 
exclaimed  softly.  "  Has  this  honour  indeed  come  to  my 
house  ?  I  have  waited  a  lifetime,  sir,  and  I  took  pains  to 
assure  you  long  since  of  a  welcome." 

"  Do  not  remind  me  of  those  wretched  wasted  months," 
replied  Hamilton,  gallantly,  and  Dr.  Franklin  nodded  with 
approval.  "Be  sure,  madam,  that  I  shall  risk  no  re 
proaches  in  the  future." 

She  passed  him  on  in  the  fashion  of  royalty,  and  was 
equally  gracious  to  Steuben  and  Fish,  although  she  did  not 
courtesy.  The  company,  which  had  been  scattered  in 
groups,  the  deepest  about  the  throne  of  the  hostess,  imme 
diately  converged  and  made  Hamilton  their  com  non  centre. 
Would  Washington  accept  ?  Surely  he  must  know.  Would 
he  choose  to  be  addressed  as  "  His  Serene  Highness,"  "  His 
High  Mightiness,"  or  merely  as  "  Excellency  "  ?  Would 
so  haughty  an  aristocrat  lend  himself  agreeably  to  the  com 
mon  forms  of  Republicanism,  even  if  he  had  refused  a 
crown,  and  had  been  the  most  jealous  guardian  of  the  lib- 


316  THE   CONQUEROR 

erties  of  the  American  people  ?  An  aristocrat  is  an  aristo 
crat,  and  doubtless  he  would  observe  all  the  rigid  formalities 
of  court  life.  Most  of  those  present  heartily  hoped  that 
he  would.  They,  too,  were  jealous  of  their  liberties,  but 
had  no  yearning  toward  a  republican  simplicity,  which,  to 
their  minds,  savoured  of  plebianism.  Socially  they  still 
were  royalists,  whatever  their  politics,  and  many  a  coat  of 
arms  was  yet  in  its  frame. 

"  Of  course  Washington  will  be  our  first  President,"  re 
plied  Hamilton,  who  was  prepared  to  go  to  Mount  Vernon, 
if  necessary.  "  I  have  had  no  communication  from  him  on 
the  subject,  but  he  would  obey  the  command  of  public 
duty  if  he  were  on  his  death-bed.  His  reluctance  is 
natural,  for  his  life  has  been  a  hard  one  in  the  field,  and 
his  tastes  are  those  of  a  country  gentleman, — tastes  which 
he  has  recently  been  permitted  to  indulge  to  the  full  for 
the  first  time.  Moreover,  he  is  so  modest  that  it  is  difficult 
to  make  him  understand  that  no  other  man  is  to  be  thought 
of  for  these  first  difficult  years.  When  he  does,  there  is  no 
more  question  of  his  acceptance  than  there  was  of  his  assum 
ing  the  command  of  the  army.  As  for  titles  they  come 
about  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  it  is  quite  positive  that 
Washington,  although  a  Republican,  will  never  become  a 
Democrat.  He  is  a  grandee  and  will  continue  to  live  like 
one,  and  the  man  who  presumes  to  take  a  liberty  with  him 
is  lost." 

Mrs.  Croix,  quite  forgotten,  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  a 
smile  succeeding  the  puzzled  annoyance  of  her  eyes.  In 
this  house  her  words  were  the  jewels  for  which  this  courtly 
company  scrambled,  but  Hamilton  had  not  been  met  abroad 
for  weeks,  and  from  him  there  was  always  something  to 
learn ;  whf.reas  from  even  the  most  brilliant  of  women  — 
she  shrugged  her  shoulders ;  and  her  eyes,  as  they  dwelt 
on  Hami'ton,  gradually  filled  with  an  expression  of  idola 
trous  pride.  The  new  delight  of  self-effacement  was  one 
of  the  keenest  she  had  known. 

The  bombardment  continued.  The  Vice-President  ? 
Whom  should  Hamilton  support?  Adams?  Hancock? 
Was  it  true  that  there  was  a  schism  in  the  Federal  party 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  317 

that  might  give  the  anti-Federalists,  with  Clinton  at  their 
head,  a  chance  for  the  Vice-Presidency  at  least  ?  Who 
would  be  Washington's  advisers  besides  himself  ?  Would 
the  President  have  a  cabinet  ?  Would  Congress  sanction 
it  ?  Whom  should  he  want  as  confreres,  and  whom  in  the 
Senate  to  further  his  plans  ?  Whom  did  he  favour  as  Sena 
tors  and  Representatives  from  New  York  ?  Could  this  rage 
for  amendments  be  stopped  ?  What  was  to  be  the  fate  of 
the  circular  letter  ?  Was  all  danger  of  a  new  Constitutional 
Convention  well  over  ?  What  about  the  future  site  of  the 
Capital  — would  the  North  get  it,  or  the  South  ? 

All  these,  the  raging  questions  of  the  day,  it  took  Hamil 
ton  the  greater  part  of  the  evening  to  answer  or  parry,  but 
he  deftly  altered  his  orbit  until  he  stood  beside  Mrs.  Croix, 
the  company  before  her  shrine.  He  had  encountered  her 
eyes,  but  although  he  knew  the  supreme  surrender  of 
women  in  the  first  stages  of  passion,  he  also  understood 
the  vanities  and  weaknesses  of  human  nature  too  well  not 
to  apprehend  a  chill  of  the  affections  under  too  prolonged 
a  mortification. 

Clinton  entered  at  midnight ;  and  after  almost  bending 
his  gouty  knee  to  the  hostess,  whom  he  had  never  seen  in 
such  softened  yet  dazzling  beauty,  he  measured  Hamilton 
for  a  moment,  then  laughed  and  held  out  his  hand. 

"  You  are  a  wonderful  fighter,"  he  said,  "  and  you  beat 
me  squarely.  We'll  meet  in  open  combat  again  and  again, 
no  doubt  of  it,  and  I  hope  we  will,  for  you  rouse  all  my 
mettle ;  but  I  like  you,  sir,  I  like  you.  I  can't  help  it." 

Hamilton,  at  that  time  of  his  life  the  most  placable  of 
men,  had  shaken  his  hand  heartily.  "And  I  so  esteem 
and  admire  you,  sir,"  he  answered  warmly,  "  that  I  would 
I  could  convert  you,  for  your  doctrines  are  bound  to  plunge 
this  country  into  civil  war  sooner  or  later.  The  Constitu 
tion  has  given  the  States  just  four  times  more  power  than 
is  safe  in  their  hands ;  but  if  we  could  establish  a  tradition 
at  this  early  stage  of  the  country's  history  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  States  always  to  consider  the  Union  first  and 
themselves  as  grateful  assistants  to  a  hard-working  and 
paternal  central  power,  we  might  do  much  to  counteract 


3i8  THE   CONQUEROR 

an  evil  which,  if  coddled,  is  bound  to  result  in  a  trial  of 
strength." 

"That  is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  you  croak,  except 
in  a  public  speech  where  you  had  a  point  to  gain,"  said 
Livingston.  "  Do  you  mean  that?" 

"  What  of  it  ?  "  asked  Clinton.  "  Under  Mr.  Hamilton's 
constitution  —  for  if  it  be  not  quite  so  monarchical  as  the 
one  he  wanted,  it  has  been  saddled  upon  the  United  States 
through  his  agency  more  than  through  any  other  influence 
or  group  of  influences  —  I  say,  that  under  Mr.  Hamilton's 
constitution  all  individualism  is  lost.  We  are  to  be  but 
the  component  parts  of  a  great  machine  which  will  grind 
us  as  it  lists.  Had  we  remained  thirteen  independent  and 
sovereign  States,  with  a  tribunal  for  what  little  common 
legislation  might  be  necessary,  then  we  might  have  built 
up  a  great  and  a  unique  nation ;  but  under  what  is  little 
better  than  an  absolute  monarchy  all  but  a  small  group 
of  men  are  bound  to  live  and  die  nonentities." 

"  But  think  of  the  excited  competition  for  a  place  in  that 
group,"  said  Hamilton,  laughing.  The  disappointed  Gov 
ernor's  propositions  were  not  worthy  of  serious  argument. 

"  I  do  not  think  it  is  as  bad  as  that,  your  Excellency," 
said  Dr.  Franklin,  mildly.  "  I  should  have  favoured  a  some 
what  loose  Confederation,  as  you  know,  but  the  changes 
and  the  development  of  this  country  will  be  so  great  that 
there  will  be  plenty  of  room  for  individualism  ;  indeed,  it 
could  not  be  suppressed.  And  after  a  careful  study  of 
this  instrument  that  you  are  to  live  under  —  my  own  time 
is  so  short  that  my  only  role  now  is  that  of  the  prophet  — 
I  fail  to  see  anything  of  essential  danger  to  the  liberties  of 
the  American  people.  I  may  say  that  the  essays  of  "  The 
Federalist "  would  have  reassured  me  on  this  point,  had  I 
still  doubted.  I  read  them  again  the  other  week.  The 
proof  is  there,  I  think,  that  the  Constitution,  if  rigidly 
interpreted  and  lived  up  to,  must  prove  a  beneficent  if 
stern  parent  to  those  who  dwell  under  it." 

Clinton  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  would  I  could  share 
your  optimism,"  he  said.  "  What  a  picture  have  \ve  !  The 
most  venerable  statesman  in  the  country  finding  some  hope 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  319 

for  individual  liberty  in  this  Constitution ;   the   youngest, 
an  optimist  by  nature  and  habit,  sanguine  by  youth  and 
temperament,  trembling  for  the  powers  it  may  confer  upon 
a  people  too  democratically  inclined.     This  is  true,  sir  — 
is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hamilton.  "  Democracy  is  a  poison,  just 
as  Republicanism  is  the  ideal  of  all  self-respecting  men.  I 
would  do  all  I  could  to  vitalize  the  one  and  nullify  the 
other.  The  spirit  of  democracy  exists  already,  no  doubt 
of  it.  If  we  could  suppress  it  in  time,  we  should  also  sup 
press  the  aspirations  of  encouraged  plebianism,  —  a  danger 
ous  factor  in  any  republic.  It  means  the  mixing  of  ignoble 
blood  with  good,  a  gradual  lowering  of  ideals  until  a  gen 
eral  level  of  sordidness,  individualism  in  its  most  selfish  and 
self-seeking  form,  and  political  corruption,  are  the  inevit 
able  results.  You,  your  Excellency,  are  an  autocrat.  It 
is  odd  that  your  principles  should  coincide  so  closely  with 
the  despotism  of  democracy." 

"  Oh,  I  can't  argue  with  you !  "  exclaimed  Clinton,  im 
patiently.  "  No  one  can.  That  is  the  reason  you  beat  us 
when  we  clearly  were  in  the  right.  What  says  Madam  ? 
She  is  our  oracle."  "  If  she  would  but  bring  him  under  her 
foot !  "  he  said  to  Yates.  "  She  is  heart  and  soul  with  us. 
I  augur  well  that  he  is  here  at  last." 

"  It  is  long  since  our  fairy  queen  has  spoken,"  Franklin 
was  saying ;  gallant  to  all  women,  he  was  prostrate  before 
this  one.  "  Her  genius  directs  her  to  the  most  hidden 
kernels." 

"  What  do  you  wish?"  she  asked  lightly.  "  A  prophecy? 
I  am  no  Cassandra.  Unlike  Dr.  Franklin,  I  am  too  selfish 
to  care  what  may  happen  when  I  am  dead.  At  this  date 
we  are  assured  of  two  elements  in  government :  unselfish 
patriotism  and  common-sense.  There  never  has  been  a 
nobler  nor  a  more  keenly  intelligent  group  of  men  in  pub 
lic  life  than  General  Washington  will  be  able  to  command 
as  assistants  in  forming  a  government.  And  should  our 
Governor  lead  his  own  party  to  victory,"  she  added,  turn 
ing  to  Clinton  with  so  brilliant  a  smile  that  it  dissipated  a 
gathering  scowl,  "  it  would  be  quite  the  same.  The  deter- 


320  THE   CONQUEROR 

mined  struggle  of  the  weaker  party  for  the  rights  which 
only  supremacy  can  insure  them  is  often  misconstrued  as 
selfishness ;  and  power  leads  their  higher  qualities  as  well 
as  their  caution  and  conservatism  to  victory.  I  am  a  phi 
losopher.  I  disapproved  the  Constitution,  and  loved  the 
idea  of  thirteen  little  sovereignties ;  but  I  bow  to  the  In 
evitable  and  am  prepared  to  love  the  Constitution.  The 
country  has  too  much  to  accomplish,  too  much  to  recover 
from,  to  waste  time  arguing  what  might  have  been ;  it  is 
sure  to  settle  down  into  as  complacent  a  philosophy  as  my 
own,  and  adjust  itself  to  its  new  and  roomy  crinoline." 

"  Crinoline  is  the  word,"  growled  Clinton,  who  accepted 
her  choice  of  words  as  a  subtle  thrust  at  Hamilton.  "It 
is  rigid.  Wherever  you  move  it  will  move  with  you  and 
bound  your  horizon." 

"  Oh,  well,  you  know,"  said  Hamilton,  who  was  tired  of 
the  conversation,  "  like  a  crinoline  it  can  always  be  broken." 

XIV 

Washington  was  President  of  the  United  States.  He 
had  come  over  grandly  from  the  Jersey  shore  in  a  magnifi 
cent  barge  manned  by  twelve  oarsmen  in  white  uniform, 
escorted  by  other  barges  but  a  shade  less  imposing.  A 
week  later  he  had  taken  the  oath  of  office  on  the  new 
Broad  Street  gallery  of  Federal  Hall,  amidst  the  breathless 
silence  of  thousands,  surrounded  by  the  dignitaries  of  state 
and  three  personal  friends,  Hamilton,  Steuben,  and  Knox. 
The  anti-Federalists  were  crushed,  no  longer  of  dignity 
as  a  party,  although  with  ample  resources  for  obstruction 
and  annoyance.  The  country,  after  an  interval  of  rejoicing, 
had  settled  down  to  another  period  of  hope  and  anxiety. 

And  Hamilton  had  incurred  the  dislike  of  Adams  and 
the  hostility  of  the  Livingstons.  He  had  thought  it  best 
to  scatter  the  votes  for  the  Vice-President,  lest  there  be 
the  slightest  risk  of  Washington's  defeat;  and  Adams  who 
thought  quite  as  much  of  himself  as  he  did  of  George 
Washington,  and  had  expected  to  be  elected  with  little  less 
than  unanimity,  instead  of  by  a  bare  thirty-four  votes, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  321 

never  forgave  Hamilton  the  humiliation.  "I  have  seen 
the  utmost  delicacy  used  toward  others,"  he  wrote  to  a 
friend,  "but  my  feelings  have  never  been  regarded."  He 
knew  that  Hamilton  believed  him  to  have  been  in  sympathy 
with  the  Conway  Cabal,  —  a  suspicion  of  which  he  never 
cleared  himself,  —  and  attributed  to  the  Federal  leader  the 
motive  of  wishing  to  belittle  his  political  significance,  lest 
he  should  endeavour  to  use  his  power  as  President  of  the 
Senate  to  hamper  and  annoy  the  Administration.  Perhaps 
he  was  right.  Far  be  it  from  anyone  to  attempt  a  journey 
through  the  utmost  recesses  of  Hamilton's  mind.  He  was 
frank  by  nature  and  habit,  but  he  had  resolved  that  the 
United  States  government  should  succeed,  and  had  no 
tnind  to  put  weapons  into  the  hands  of  Washington's  rivals. 
He  believed  in  Adams's  general  integrity,  patriotism,  and 
Federalism,  however,  and  brought  him  to  power  in  his 
own  fashion.  He  achieved  his  objects  with  little  or  no 
thought  of  personal  consequences ;  and  although  this  has 
been  characterized  as  one  of  the  great  political  mistakes  of 
his  career,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  was  a  time  for 
nervousness  and  exaggerated  fears.  Washington  had  ene 
mies  ;  no  other  man  was  believed,  by  the  men  who  did  the 
thinking  for  the  country,  to  be  able  to  hold  the  United 
States  together  until  they  were  past  their  shoals,  and  the 
method  of  election  was  precarious  :  each  elector  casting 
two  votes  without  specification,  the  higher  office  falling  to 
the  candidate  who  received  the  larger  number  of  votes. 

The  Livingstons  had  desired  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
new  Congress  for  one  of  their  powerful  family,  and  Ham 
ilton  had  given  the  prize  to  Rufus  King.  No  gift  could 
have  been  more  justly  bestowed ;  but  the  Livingstons  felt 
themselves  flouted,  their  great  services  to  the  country  un 
rewarded.  Their  open  hostility  roused  all  the  haughty 
arrogance  of  Hamilton's  nature,  and  he  made  no  effort  to 
placate  them.  When  the  great  office  of  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States  was  given  to  John  Jay,  instead  of  to 
Robert  Livingston,  they  attributed  the  discrimination  to 
Hamilton's  influence  over  Washington  ;  and  the  time  came 
when  this  strong  and  hostile  faction  lent  themselves  to  the 
y 


322  THE   CONQUEROR 

scheming  of  one  of  the  subtlest  politicians  that  has  ever 
lived. 

The  contest  for  the  prizes  of  the  two  Houses  had  been 
hot  and  bitter,  and  Hamilton  had  never  been  more  active. 
As  a  result,  the  Federalists  controlled  the  Senate,  and  they 
had  elected  four  of  the  six  Representatives.  Philip  Schuy- 
ler  had  drawn  the  short  term  in  the  Senate,  and  the  antag 
onism  of  the  Livingstons  to  Hamilton  enabled  Burr  to 
displace  him  two  years  later.  The  signal  mistakes  of  Ham 
ilton's  political  career  were  in  his  party  management.  One 
of  the  greatest  leaders  in  history,  cool  and  wise,  and  of  a 
consummate  judgement  in  all  matters  of  pure  statesman 
ship,  he  was  too  hot-headed  and  impetuous,  too  obstinate 
when  his  fighting  blood  was  up,  for  the  skilful  manipulation 
of  politics.  But  so  long  as  the  Federal  party  endured,  no 
other  leader  was  contemplated  :  his  integrity  was  spotless, 
his  motives  unquestioned,  his  patriotism  and  stupendous 
abilities  the  glory  of  his  party  ;  by  sheer  force  of  genius  he 
carried  everything  before  him,  whether  his  methods  were 
approved  by  the  more  conservative  Federalists  or  not. 

Madison,  who  mildly  desired  an  office,  possibly  in  the 
Cabinet,  he  despatched  South  to  get  himself  elected  to  Con 
gress,  for  he  must  have  powerful  friends  in  that  body  to 
support  the  great  measures  he  had  in  contemplation  ;  and 
that  not  unambitious  statesman,  after  a  hot  fight  with  Pat 
rick  Henry,  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  a  seat  in 
the  House.  Before  he  went  to  Virginia  he  and  Hamilton 
had  talked  for  long  and  pleasant  hours  over  the  Federal 
leader's  future  schemes.  In  all  things  he  was  in  accord 
with  his  Captain,  and  had  warmly  promised  his  support. 

It  was  some  weeks  before  Hamilton  had  a  private  inter 
view  with  Washington,  although  he  had  dined  at  his 
house,  entertained  him,  and  been  present  at  several  in 
formal  consultations  on  such  minor  questions  as  the 
etiquette  of  the  Administration.  But  delicacy  held  him 
from  embarrassing  Washington  in  a  familiar  interview 
until  he  had  been  invited  formally  to  a  position  in  the 
contemplated  'cabinet.  He  knew  that  Washington  wished 
him  to  be  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  but  he  also  knew 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  323 

that  that  most  cautious  and  conscientious  of  men  would 
not  trust  to  his  own  judgement  in  so  grave  a  matter,  nor 
take  any  step  without  weeks  of  anxious  thought.  The 
more  deeply  were  Washington's  affections  or  desires  en 
gaged,  the  more  cautious  would  he  be.  He  was  not  a  man 
of  genius,  therefore  fell  into  none  of  the  pitfalls  of  that 
terrible  gift;  he  was  great  by  virtue  of  his  superhuman 
moral  strength  —  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  public  life  he 
never  experienced  a  temptation  —  by  a  wisdom  that  no 
mental  heat  ever  unbalanced,  by  an  unrivalled  instinct  for 
the  best  and  most  useful  in  human  beings,  and  by  a  public 
conscience  to  which  he  would  have  unhesitatingly  sacri 
ficed  himself  and  all  he  loved,  were  it  a  question  of  the 
nation's  good.  But  Hamilton  knew  whom  he  would  con 
sult,  and  devoted  himself  to  his  legal  work  without  a  qualm 
for  the  future.  As  he  had  anticipated,  Washington  wrote 
to  Robert  Morris  for  advice,  and  the  reply  of  that  eminent 
financier,  that  "  Hamilton  was  the  one  man  in  the  United 
States  competent  to  cope  with  the  extreme  difficulties  of 
that  office,"  pleasantly  ended  the  indecision  of  the  Presi 
dent,  and  he  communicated  with  Hamilton  at  once. 

Hamilton  answered  by  letter,  for  Washington  was 
wedded  to  the  formalities,  but  he  followed  it  with  a  request 
for  a  private  interview ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  eight  years 
Washington  and  Hamilton  met  once  more  for  a  purely 
personal  colloquy. 

Washington  was  occupying  temporarily  the  house  of 
Walter  Franklin,  on  the  corner  of  Cherry  Street  and  Frank 
lin  Square,  a  country  residence  at  which  society  grumbled, 
for  all  the  world  lived  between  the  present  site  of  the  City 
Hall  and  Battery  Park.  Hamilton  rode  up  on  horseback, 
and  was  shown  into  the  library,  which  overlooked  a  pleasant 
garden.  The  President,  in  the  brown  suit  of  home  manu 
facture  which  he  had  worn  at  the  inauguration,  as  grace 
ful  and  erect  as  ever,  although  with  a  more  elderly  visage 
than  in  the  days  of  war,  entered  immediately,  closed  the 
door  carefully,  then  took  both  Hamilton's  hands  in  his 
enormous  grasp.  The  austere  dignity  of  his  face  relaxed 
perceptibly. 


324  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  Oh  !  "  he  said.     "  I  am  glad  to  see  you  !  " 

"  It  is  not  a  return  to  old  times,  alas ! "  said  Hamilton, 
gaily ;  "  for  what  we  all  had  to  do  then  was  a  bagatelle  to 
this,  and  you  have  made  the  supreme  sacrifice  of  your  life." 

Washington  seated  himself  in  an  arm-chair,  motioning 
Hamilton  to  one  opposite.  "  I  wrote  Knox,"  he  said,  "  that 
I  felt  as  if  setting  out  to  my  own  execution ;  and  I  swear 
to  you,  Hamilton,  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  you  I  doubt  if 
my  courage  would  not  have  failed  me  at  the  last  moment. 
I  had  a  moment  of  nervous  dread  this  morning  before  I 
opened  your  letter,  but  I  believed  that  you  would  not  fail 
me.  It  is  a  colossal  enterprise  we  are  embarked  upon,  this 
constructing  of  a  great  nation  for  all  time.  God  knows  I 
am  not  equal  to  it,  and  although  I  shall  always  reserve  to 
myself  the  final  judgement,  I  expect  a  few  of  you  to  think 
for  me  —  you,  in  particular.  Then  with  the  Almighty's 
help  we  may  succeed,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  it  has  cost 
me  many  wakeful  nights  —  and  cold  sweats." 

He  spoke  with  his  usual  slow  impressiveness,  but  he 
smiled  as  he  watched  Hamilton's  flashing  eyes  and  dilating 
nostrils.  "  You  look  but  little  older,"  he  added.  "  Not 
that  you  still  look  a  stripling,  controlling  your  temper  with 
both  hands  while  I  worked  you  half  to  death  ;  but  you  have 
the  everlasting  youth  of  genius,  I  suppose,  and  you  look  to 
me  able  to  cope  with  anything." 

Hamilton  laughed.  "  I  am  far  older  in  many  things,  sir. 
I  fear  I  often  seemed  ungrateful.  I  have  blessed  you 
many  times,  since,  for  the  discipline  and  the  invaluable 
knowledge  I  gained  in  those  years." 

"  Ah  !  "  exclaimed  Washington.  "  Ah  !  I  am  very  glad 
to  hear  you  say  that.  It  is  like  your  generosity,  and  I  have 
had  many  anxious  moments,  wondering  if  there  might  not 
still  be  a  grudge.  But  not  only  were  your  peculiar  gifts 
indispensable  to  this  country,  but,  I  will  confess,  now  that 
it  is  over,  I  mortally  dreaded  that  you  would  lose  your  life. 
You  and  Laurens  were  the  most  reckless  devils  I  ever  saw 
in  the  field.  Poor  Laurens !  I  felt  a  deep  affection  for 
him,  and  his  death  was  one  of  the  bitterest  blows  of  the 
war.  If  he  were  here  now,  and  Lafayette,  how  many 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  325 

pleasant  hours  I  should  look  forward  to ;  but  I  have  you, 
and  God  knows  I  am  grateful.  Lafayette,  I  am  afraid,  has 
undertaken  too  great  a  business  for  his  capacity,  which 
is  admirable ;  but  he  is  not  strong  enough  to  be  a  leader  of 
men." 

"  I  wish  he  were  here,  and  well  out  of  it." 

"  I  have  not  sufficiently  thanked  you  for  the  letter  you 
wrote  me  last  September.  It  was  what  I  had  earnestly 
hoped  for.  My  position  was  most  distressing.  It  was 
impossible  for  me  not  only  to  ask  the  advice  of  anyone, 
but  the  temper  of  the  public  mind  regarding  myself.  To 
assume  that  I  must  be  desired  —  but  I  need  not  explain  to 
you,  who  know  me  better  than  anybody  living,  the  extreme 
delicacy  of  my  position,  and  the  torments  of  my  mind. 
Your  letter  explained  everything,  told  me  all  I  wished  to 
know,  made  my  duty  clear —  painfully  clear.  You  divined 
what  I  needed  and  expressed  yourself  in  your  usual  frank 
and  manly  way,  without  the  least  hesitation  or  fear.  I 
take  this  occasion  to  assure  you  again  of  my  deep  apprecia 
tion." 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  Hamilton,  who  was  always  affected 
unbearably  by  Washington's  rare  moments  of  deep  feeling, 
"  I  was  merely  the  selected  instrument  to  give  you  what 
you  most  needed  at  the  moment ;  nothing  more.  This  was 
your  destiny ;  you  would  be  here  in  any  case.  It  is  my 
pride,  my  reward  of  many  years  of  thought  and  work,  that 
I  am  able  to  be  of  service  to  your  administration,  and  con 
spicuous  enough  to  permit  you  to  call  me  to  your  side. 
Be  sure  that  all  that  I  have  or  am  is  yours,  and  that  I  shall 
never  fail  you." 

"  If  I  did  not  believe  that,  I  should  indeed  be  deep  in 
gloomy  forebodings.  Jay  will  officiate  as  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  present ;  Knox,  as  Secretary  at  War.  I  con 
template  inviting  Randolph  to  act  as  Attorney-General, 
and  Jefferson  as  permanent  Secretary  of  State,  if  he  will 
accept ;  thus  dividing  the  appointments  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  What  do  you  think  of  the  wisdom  of 
appointing  Mr.  Jefferson  ?  He  is  a  man  of  great  abilities, 
and  his  long  residence  abroad  should  make  him  a  valuable 


326  THE   CONQUEROR 

Secretary  of  State,  his  conspicuous  services  acceptable  to 
both  sections  of  the  country.  It  is  the  selection  over 
which  I  have  hesitated  longest,  for  it  is  a  deep  and  subtle 
nature,  a  kind  I  have  no  love  of  dealing  with,  but  so  far 
as  I  know  it  is  not  a  devious  one,  and  his  talents  command 
my  respect." 

"  I  am  unable  to  advise  you,  sir,  for  he  is  not  personally 
known  to  me,"  said  Hamilton,  who  was  not  long  wishing 
that  he  had  had  a  previous  and  extensive  knowledge  of 
Thomas  Jefferson.  "Madison  thinks  well  of  him  —  is  a 
close  personal  friend.  He  has  rendered  great  services  to 
the  State  of  Virginia,  his  experience  is  wide,  and  he  pos 
sesses  a  brilliant  and  facile  pen  —  I  can  think  of  no  one 
better  fitted  for  the  position.  His  record  for  personal 
bravery  is  not  untarnished,  but  perhaps  that  will  insure 
peace  in  the  Cabinet." 

Washington  laughed.  "  Jefferson  would  slide  under  the 
table  if  you  assaulted  him,"  he  said.  "  It  is  you  only  that 
I  fear,  as  it  is  you  only  upon  whom  I  thoroughly  rely,  and 
not  for  advice  in  your  own  department  alone,  but  in  all.  I 
think  it  would  perhaps  be  better  not  to  hold  collective 
meetings  of  the  Cabinet,  but  to  receive  each  of  you  alone. 
It  is  as  well  the  others  do  not  know  that  your  knowledge 
and  judgement  are  my  chief  reliance." 

XV 

Hamilton,  on  his  way  home,  stopped  in  at  the  chambers 
of  Troup. 

"Bob,"  he  said,  "you  are  to  wind  up  my  law  business. 
I  am  to  be  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.", 

Troup  half  rose  with  an  exclamation  of  impatience. 
"  Good  heavens!"  he  exclaimed.  "Have  you  not  an 
introductory  line  in  your  nature  ?  It  has  been  bad  enough 
to  have  been  anticipating  this,  without  having  it  go  straight 
through  one  like  a  cannon-ball.  Of  course  it  is  no  use  to 
reason  with  you  —  I  gave  that  up  just  after  I  had  assumed 
that  you  were  a  small  boy  whom  it  was  the  duty  of  a  big 
collegian  to  protect,  and  you  nearly  demolished  my  not  too 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  327 

handsome  visage  with  your  astonishing  fists  for  contradict 
ing  you.  But  I  am  sorry.  Remain  at  the  bar,  and  you 
have  an  immediate  prospect  of  wealth,  not  too  many^ne- 
mies,  and  the  highest  honours.  Five  years  from  now^nd 
you  would  lead  not  only  the  bar  of  New  York  but  of 
the  whole  country.  Jay  may  be  the  first  Chief  Justice,  but 
you  would  be  the  second  — 

"  Nothing  would  induce  me  to  be  Chief  Justice.  I  should 
be  bored  to  death.  Can  you  fancy  me  sitting  eternally  and 
solemnly  in  the  middle  of  a  bench,  listening  to  long-winded 
lawyers?  While  I  live  I  shall  have  action  — 

"  Well,  you  will  have  action-enough  in  this  position ;  it 
will  burn  you  out  twenty  years  before  your  time.  And  it 
will  be  the  end  of  what  peace  and  happiness  a  born  fighter 
could  ever  hope  to  possess ;  for  you  will  raise  up  enemies 
and  critics  on  every  side,  you  will  be  hounded,  you  will  be 
the  victim  of  cabals,  your  good  name  will  be  assailed  —  " 

"  Answer  this  :  do  you  know  of  anyone  who  could  fill 
this  office  as  advantageously  to  the  country  as  I  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Troup,  unwillingly.     "  I  do  not." 

Hamilton  was  standing  by  the  table.  He  laid  his  hand 
on  a  volume  of  Coke,  expanding  and  contracting  it  slowly. 
It  was  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  hand  in  America,  and 
almost  as  famous  as  its  owner.  But  as  Troup  gazed  at  it 
he  saw  only  its  superhuman  suggestion  of  strength. 

"The  future  of  this  country  lies  there,"  said  Hamilton. 
"  I  know,  and  you  know,  that  my  greatest  gift  is  statesman 
ship  ;  my  widest,  truest  knowledge  is  in  the  department  of 
finance ;  moreover,  that  nothing  has  so  keen  and  enduring 
a  fascination  for  me.  I  could  no  more  refuse  this  invita 
tion  of  Washington's  than  I  could  clog  the  wheels  of  my 
mind  to  inaction.  It  is  like  a  magnet  to  steel.  If  I  were 
sure  of  personal  consequences  the  most  disastrous,  I  should 
accept,  and  without  hesitation.  For  what  else  was  the 
peculiar  quality  of  my  brain  given  me  ?  To  what  other 
end  have  I  studied  this  great  question  since  I  was  a  boy  of 
nineteen — wild  as  I  was  to  fight  and  win  the  honours  of  the 
field  ?  Was  ever  a  man's  destiny  clearer,  or  his  duty  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  more  to  say,"  said  Troup,    "  but  I   regret 


328  THE  CONQUEROR 

it  all  the  same.  Have  you  heard  from  Morris  —  Gouver- 
neur ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  had  a  long  screed,  in  almost  your  words, 
spiced  with  his  own  particular  impertinence.  Will  you 
wind  up  my  law  business  ?  " 

"  Oh,  of  course,"  said  Troup. 

The  new  Congress,  made  up,  though  it  was,  of  many  of 
the  ablest  men  in  the  country,  had  inherited  the  dilatory 
methods  of  the  old,  and  did  not  pass  an  act  establishing 
the  Treasury  Department  until  the  2d  of  September. 
Hamilton's  appointment  to  this  most  important  portfolio 
at  the  disposal  of  the  President  was  looked  upon  as  a 
matter  of  course.  It  created  little  discussion,  but  so  deep 
a  feeling  of  security,  that  even  before  the  reading  of  his 
famous  Report  business  had  revived  to  some  extent. 
This  Report  upon  the  public  credit  was  demanded  of  him 
at  once,  but  it  was  not  until  the  recess  of  Congress  that  he 
could  work  uninterruptedly  upon  it ;  for  that  body,  floun 
dering  in  its  chaos  of  inherited  difficulties,  turned  to  the 
new  Secretary  for  advice  on  almost  every  problem  that 
beset  it.  I  cannot  do  better  here  than  to  quote  from  the 
monograph  on  Hamilton  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  who  puts 
with  admirable  succinctness  a  series  of  facts  important  to 
the  knowledge  of  every  American  :  — 

In  the  course  of  a  year  he  was  asked  to  report,  and  did  report  with 
full  details,  upon  the  raising,  management,  and  collection  of  the  reve 
nue,  including  a  scheme  for  revenue  cutters ;  as  to  the  estimates  of 
income  and  expenditure ;  as  to  the  temporary  regulation  of  the  chaotic 
currency ;  as  to  navigation  laws,  and  the  regulation  of  the  coasting 
trade,  after  a  thorough  consideration  of  a  heap  of  undigested  statistics  ; 
as  to  the  post-office,  for  which  he  drafted  a  bill ;  as  to  the  purchase  of 
West  Point ;  on  the  great  question  of  public  lands  and  a  uniform  system 
of  managing  them  ;  and  upon  all  claims  against  the  government.  Rap 
idly  and  effectively  the  secretary  dealt  with  all  these  matters,  besides 
drawing  up  as  a  voluntary  suggestion  a  scheme  for  a  judicial  system. 
But  in  addition  to  all  this  multiplicity  of  business  there  were  other 
matters  like  the  temporary  regulation  of  the  currency,  requiring  peremp 
tory  settlement.  Money  had  to  be  found  for  the  immediate  and  press 
ing  wants  of  the  new  government  before  any  system  had  been  or  could 
be  adopted,  and  the  only  resources  were  the  empty  treasury  and  broken 
credit  of  the  old  confederacy.  By  one  ingenious  expedient  or  another, 
sometimes  by  pledging  his  own  credit,  Hamilton  got  together  what 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  329 

was  absolutely  needful,  and  without  a  murmur  conquered  those  petty 
troubles  when  he  was  elaborating  and  devising  a  far-reaching  policy. 
Then  the  whole  financial  machine  of  the  Treasury  Department,  and  a 
system  of  accounting,  demanded  instant  attention.  These  intricate 
problems  were  solved  at  once,  the  machine  constructed,  and  the  system 
of  accounts  devised  and  put  into  operation ;  and  so  well  were  these 
difficult  tasks  performed  that  they  still  subsist,  developing  and  growing 
with  the  nation,  but  at  bottom  the  original  arrangements  of  Hamilton. 
These  complicated  questions,  answered  so  rapidly  and  yet  so  accurately 
in  the  first  weeks  of  confusion  incident  to  the  establishment  of  a  new 
government,  show  a  familiarity  and  preparation,  as  well  as  a  readiness 
of  mind  of  a  most  unusual  kind.  Yet  while  Hamilton  was  engaged  in 
all  this  bewildering  work,  he  was  evolving  the  great  financial  policy,  at 
once  broad,  comprehensive,  and  minute,  and  after  the  recess  in  January 
he  laid  his  ground  plan  before  Congress  in  his  first  report  on  public 
credit ;  a  state  paper  which  marks  an  era  in  American  history,  and  by 
which  the  massive  corner-stone,  from  which  the  great  structure  of  the 
Federal  government  has  risen,  was  securely  laid. 

New  York,  meanwhile,  had  blossomed  to  her  full. 
Houses  had  been  renovated,  and  with  all  the  elegance  to 
be  commanded.  Many  had  been  let,  by  the  less  ambitious, 
to  the  Members  of  Congress  from  other  States,  and  all 
were  entertaining.  General  Schuyler  occupied  a  house 
close  to  Hamilton,  and  his  daughters  Cornelia  and  Peggy 
—  Mrs.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  —  were  lively  members  of 
society.  The  Vice-President  had  taken  the  great  house 
at  Richmond  Hill,  and  General  Knox  as  imposing  a  man 
sion  as  he  could  find.  Washington,  after  a  few  months, 
moved  to  the  McComb  house  in  lower  Broadway,  one  of 
the  largest  in  town,  with  a  reception  room  of  superb  pro 
portions.  Here  Mrs.  Washington,  standing  on  a  dais,  usu 
ally  assisted  by  Mrs.  Adams  and  Mrs.  Hamilton,  received, 
with  the  rigid  formality  of  foreign  courts,  all  who  dared  to 
attend  her  levees.  She  had  discarded  the  simplicity  of 
campaigning  days,  and  attired  herself  with  a  magnificence 
which  was  emulated  by  her  "  Court."  It  was  yet  too  soon  to 
break  from  tradition,  and  the  Washingtons  conducted  them 
selves  in  accordance  with  their  strong  aristocratic  proclivities. 
Nor  did  it  occur  to  anyone,  even  the  most  ardent  Republican, 
that  dignity  and  splendour  were  inconsistent  with  a  free  and 
enlightened  Republic,  until  Jefferson  began  his  steady  and 
successful  system  of  plebeianizing  the  country. 


330  THE    CONQUEROR 

Washington's  levees  were  frigid  ;  but  I  have  not  observed 
any  special  warmth  at  the  White  House  upon  public  occa 
sions  in  my  own  time.  The  President,  after  the  company 
had  assembled,  entered  in  full  official  costume  :  black  velvet 
and  satin,  diamond  knee-buckles,  his  hair  in  a  bag  and 
tied  with  ribbons.  He  carried  a  military  hat  under  his  arm, 
and  wore  a  dress  sword  in  a  green  shagreen  scabbard.  He 
made  a  tour  of  the  room,  addressing  each  guest  in  turn, 
all  being  ranged  according  to  their  rank.  At  his  wife's 
levees  he  attended  as  a  private  individual  and  mingled  more 
freely  with  the  guests;  but  his  presence  always  lowered 
every  voice  in  the  room,  and  women  trembled  with  anxiety 
lest  he  should  not  engage  them  in  conversation,  while  dread 
ing  that  he  might.  The  unparalleled  dignity,  the  icy  reserve 
of  his  personality,  had  always  affected  the  temperature 
of  the  gatherings  he  honoured  ;  but  at  this  time,  when  to 
the  height  of  a  colossal  and  unique  reputation  was  added 
the  first  incumbency  of  an  office,  bestowed  by  a  unanimous 
sentiment,  which  was  to  raise  the  United  States  to  the  plane 
of  the  great  nations  of  Europe,  he  was  instinctively  regarded 
as  superhuman,  rather  as  a  human  embodiment  of  the  Power 
beyond  space.  He  was  deeply  sensitive  to  the  depressing 
effect  he  produced,  and  not  a  little  bored  by  the  open- 
mouthed  curiosity  he  excited.  A  youngster,  having  run 
after  him  for  quite  a  block,  one  day,  panting  from  his  ex 
ertions,  Washington  wheeled  about  suddenly,  and  made  a 
bow  so  profound  and  satirical  that  his  pursuer  fled  with  a 
yell  of  terror. 

The  President  was  very  fond  of  the  theatre,  and  invited 
a  party  once  a  week  to  accompany  him  to  John  Street.  He 
entertained  at  table  constantly,  and  dined  out  formally  and 
intimately.  Congress,  he  attended  in  great  state.  He  had 
brought  to  New  York  six  white  horses  of  the  finest  Vir 
ginian  breed,  and  a  magnificent  cream-coloured  coach,  orna 
mented  with  cupids  and  festoons.  For  state  occasions  the 
horses  were  covered  over  night  with  a  white  paste,  and  pol 
ished  next  morning  until  they  shone  like  silver.  The  hoofs 
were  painted  black.  When  Washington  drove  through  the 
city  on  his  way  to  Congress,  attended  by  postilions  and  out- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  331 

riders,  it  is  little  wonder  that  he  had  a  royal  progress  through 
proud  and  satisfied  throngs. 

The  Adamses,  who  had  counselled  all  the  usages  of  for 
eign  courts,  but  had  been  outvoted  by  Hamilton  and  Jay, 
entertained  but  little  less  than  the  President ;  and  so  did 
the  Schuylers',  Livingstons,  Jays,  and  half  the  town.  The 
Hamiltons,  of  necessity,  entertained  far  more  simply;  but 
Betsey  received  every  Wednesday  evening,  when  her  rooms 
were  a  crush  of  fashion  and  politics,  eager  for  a  glimpse  of 
Hamilton  and  to  do  court  to  her  popular  self.  They  gave 
at  least  one  dinner  a  week,  but  Betsey  as  a  rule  went  out 
with  her  parents,  for  her  husband  was  too  busy  for  society. 

The  world  saw  little  of  Hamilton  at  this  time,  and  Betsey 
but  little  more.  He  worked  in  his  library  or  office  for  four 
teen  hours  of  the  day,  while  the  country  teemed  with  con 
jectures  of  his  coming  Report.  A  disposition  to  speculate 
upon  it  was  already  manifest,  and  more  than  one  friend  en 
deavoured  to  gain  a  hint  of  its  contents.  Not  even  Madi 
son,  to  whom  he  had  talked  more  freely  than  to  anyone, 
knew  aught  of  the  details  of  that  momentous  Report,  what 
recommendations  he  actually  should  make  to  Congress ; 
for  none  knew  better  than  he  that  a  hint  derived  from 
him  which  should  lead  to  profitable  speculation  would  tar 
nish  his  good  name  irretrievably.  Careless  in  much  else, 
on  the  subject  of  his  private  and  public  integrity  he  was 
rigid ;  he  would  not  have  yielded  a  point  to  retain  the  af 
fection  of  the  best  and  most  valued  of  his  friends.  Fastid 
ious  by  nature  on  the  question  of  his  honour,  he  knew,  also, 
that  other  accusations,  even  when  verified,  mattered  little 
in  the  long  run  ;  a  man's  actual  position  in  life  and  in  his 
tory  was  determined  by  the  weight  of  his  brain  and  the 
spotlessness  of  his  public  character.  He  worked  in  secret, 
with  no  help  from  anyone ;  nor  could  blandishments  ex 
tract  a  hint  of  his  purpose.  Against  the  rock  of  his  integ 
rity  passion  availed  nothing.  As  for  Betsey,  between  her 
growing  children,  the  delicacy  which  had  followed  the  birth 
of  her  last  child,  and  her  heavy  social  duties,  she  would 
have  had  little  time  to  assist  him  had  he  confided  even  in 
her.  Moreover,  to  keep  up  a  dignified  position  upon  $3500 


332  THE   CONQUEROR 

a  year  cost  her  clever  little  Dutch  head  much  anxious 
thought.  It  is  true  that  some  money  had  been  put  aside 
from  the  income  of  her  husband's  large  practice,  but  he 
was  the  most  careless  and  generous  of  men,  always  refus 
ing  the  fees  of  people  poorer  than  himself,  and  with  no 
talent  for  personal,  great  as  was  his  mastery  of  political, 
economy.  If  General  Schuyler  often  came  to  the  rescue 
his  son-in-law  never  knew  it.  Hamilton  had  a  vague  idea 
that  Betsey  could  manage  somehow,  and  was  far  too  ab 
sorbed  to  give  the  matter  a  thought.  Betsey,  it  would  seem, 
had  her  own  little  reputation,  for  it  was  about  this  time 
that  M'Henry  finished  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  as  follows  :  — 

Pray  present  me  to  Mrs.  Hamilton.  I  have  learned  from  a  friend 
of  yours  that  she  has,  as  far  as  the  comparison  will  hold,  as  much  merit 
as  your  treasurer  as  you  have  as  treasurer  of  the  wealth  of  the  United 
States. 

XVI 

Congress  reassembled,  and  on  the  2d  of  January  Ham 
ilton  sent  in  his  Report  on  Public  Credit.  By  this  time 
excitement  and  anxiety,  to  say  nothing  of  cupidity,  were 
risen  to  fever  pitch.  All  realized  that  they  were  well  in 
the  midst  of  a  national  crisis,  for  the  country  was  bank 
rupt,  and  her  foreign  and  domestic  debts  footed  up  to 
quite  eighty  millions  of  dollars  —  a  stupendous  sum  in  the 
infancy  of  a  nation,  when  there  was  little  specie  in  the 
country,  and  an  incalculable  amount  of  worthless  paper, 
with  long  arrears  of  interest  besides.  If  Hamilton  could 
cope  with  this  great  question,  and  if  Congress,  with  its 
determined  anti-government  party,  would  support  him,  the 
Union  and  its  long-suffering  patriots  would  enter  upon  a 
season  of  prosperity  and  happiness.  If  the  one  were  in 
adequate  to  meet  the  situation,  or  the  other  failed  in  its 
national  duty,  the  consequences  must  be  deeper  wretched 
ness  and  disaster  than  anything  they  yet  had  endured. 
The  confidence  in  Hamilton  was  very  widespread,  for  not 
only  were  his  great  abilities  fully  recognized,  but  his  gen 
eral  opinions  on  the  subject  had  long  been  known,  and 
approved  by  all  but  the  politicians  on  the  wrong  side. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  333 

The  confidence  had  been  manifested  in  a  manner  little  to 
his  liking  :  speculators  had  scoured  the  country,  buying 
up  government  securities  at  the  rate  of  a  few  shillings  on 
the  pound,  taking  advantage  of  needy  holders,  who  dwelt, 
many  of  them,  in  districts  too  remote  from  the  centre  of 
action  to  know  what  the  Government  was  about.  And 
even  before  this  "signal  instance  of  moral  turpitude,"  the 
fact  that  so  many  old  soldiers  who  had  gone  home  with  no 
other  pay  than  government  securities,  to  be  exchanged  for 
specie  at  the  pleasure  of  a  government  which  nobody  had 
trusted,  had  sold  out  for  a  small  sum,  was  one  of  the  agi 
tating  themes  of  the  country ;  and  opinion  was  divided 
upon  the  right  of  the  assignees  to  collect  the  full  amount 
which  the  new  government  might  be  prepared  to  pay, 
while  the  moral  rights  of  the  worthy  and  original  holder 
were  ignored.  It  was  understood,  however,  that  Hamilton 
had  given  no  more  searching  thought  to  any  subject  than 
to  this. 

The  public  was  not  admitted  to  the  galleries  of  Congress 
in  those  days,  but  a  great  crowd  packed  Wall  and  Broad 
streets  while  the  Report  was  reading  and  until  some  hint  of 
its  contents  filtered  through  the  guarded  doors.  Hamilton 
himself  was  at  home  with  his  family,  enjoying  a  day  of 
rest.  It  is  one  of  the  most  curious  incidents  in  his  career, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  highest  tributes  to  his  power  over 
men,  that  Congress,  after  mature  deliberation,  decided  that 
it  would  be  safer  to  receive  his  Report  in  writing  than  in 
the  form  of  a  personal  address  from  a  man  who  played 
so  dangerously  upon  the  nerve-board  of  the  human  nature. 
There  hardly  could  be  any  hidden  witchery  in  a  long  paper 
dealing  with  so  unemotional  a  subject  as  finance ;  but  no 
man  could  foresee  what  might  be  the  effect  of  the  Secre 
tary's  voice  and  enthusiasm, —  which  was  perilously  com 
municable, —  his  inevitable  bursts  of  spontaneous  eloquence. 
But  Hamilton  had  a  pen  which  served  him  well,  when  he 
was  forced  to  substitute  it  for  the  charm  of  his  personal 
ity.  It  was  so  pointed,  simple,  and  powerful,  it  classified 
with  such  clarity,  it  expressed  his  convictions  so  unmistak 
ably,  and  conveyed  his  subtle  appeals  to  human  passions  so 


334  THE  CONQUEROR 

obediently,  that  it  rarely  failed  to  quiver  like  an  arrow  in 
the  brain  to  which  it  was  directed.  And  this  particular 
report  was  vitalized  by  the  author's  overwhelming  sense  of 
the  great  crisis  with  which  he  was  dealing.  Reading  it 
to-day,  a  hundred  and  eleven  years  after  it  was  written, 
and  close  to  the  top  of  a  twelve-story  building,  which  is  a 
symbol  of  the  industry  and  progress  for  which  he  more  than 
any  man  who  has  ever  dedicated  his  talents  to  the  United 
States  is  responsible,  it  is  so  fresh  and  convincing,  so 
earnest,  so  insistent,  so  courteously  peremptory,  that  the 
great  century  which  lies  between  us  and  that  empire-making 
paper  lapses  from  the  memory,  and  one  is  in  that  anxious 
time,  in  the  very  study  of  the  yet  more  anxious  statesman ; 
who,  on  a  tropical  island  that  most  of  his  countrymen  never 
will  see,  came  into  being  with  the  seed  of  an  unimagined 
nation  in  his  brain. 

To  condense  Hamilton  is  much  like  attempting  to  in 
crease  the  density  of  a  stone,  or  to  reduce  the  alphabet  to 
a  tabloid.  I  therefore  shall  make  no  effort  to  add  another 
failure  to  the  several  abstracts  of  this  Report.  The  heads 
of  his  propositions  are  sufficient.  The  Report  is  accessible 
to  all  who  find  the  subject  interesting.  The  main  points 
were  these :  The  exploding  of  the  discrimination  fallacy ; 
the  assumption  of  the  State  debts  by  the  Government ;  the 
funding  of  the  entire  amount  of  the  public  debt,  foreign, 
domestic,  and  State ;  three  new  loans,  one  to  the  entire 
amount  of  the  debt,  another  of  $10,000,000,  a  third  of 
$12,000,000;  the  prompt  payment  of  the  arrears  and  cur 
rent  interest  of  the  foreign  loan  on  the  original  terms  of 
the  contract ;  the  segregating  of  the  post-office  revenue, 
amounting  to  about  a  million  dollars,  for  a  sinking  fund, 
that  the  creation  of  a  debt  should  always  be  accompanied 
by  the  means  of  extinguishment ;  increased  duties  on  for 
eign  commodities,  that  the  government  might  be  able  to 
pay  the  interest  on  her  new  debts  and  meet  her  current 
expenses;  and  more  than  one  admonition  for  prompt 
action,  as  the  credit  of  the  nation  was  reaching  a  lower 
level  daily,  besides  sinking  more  hopelessly  into  debt 
through  arrears  of  interest.  The  indebtedness  he  divided 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  335 

as  follows:  The  foreign  debt,  $10,070,307,  with  arrears 
of  interest  amounting  to  $1,640,071.  The  liquidated  do 
mestic  debt,  $27,383,917,  with  arrears  of  interest  amount 
ing  to  $13,030,168.  The  unliquidated  part  he  estimated 
at  $2,000,000,  and  the  aggregate  debt  of  the  State  at 
$25,000,000;  making  a  total  of  nearly  $80,000,000. 

He  also  hinted  at  his  long-cherished  scheme  of  a 
National  Bank,  and  a  possible  excise  law,  and  gave  con 
siderable  space  to  the  miserable  condition  of  landed  prop 
erty  and  the  methods  by  which  it  might  be  restored  to  its 
due  value. 

XVII 

The  talk  in  the  drawing-room  of  Mrs.  Croix  that  night 
was  of  little  else  but  the  Secretary's  Report.  Mrs.  Croix, 
so  said  gossip,  had  concluded  that  this  was  the  proper 
time  for  the  demise  of  her  recalcitrant  officer,  and  had  re 
tired  to  weeds  and  a  semi-seclusion  while  Mrs.  Washington 
pondered  upon  the  propriety  of  receiving  her.  Her  court 
cared  little  for  the  facts,  and  vowed  that  she  never  had 
looked  so  fair  or  so  proud ;  Hamilton,  that  she  shone  with 
the  splendour  of  a  crystal  star  on  the  black  velvet  skies 
of  the  Tropics.  She  wore,  this  evening,  a  few  yards  of 
black  gauze  which  left  bare  a  crescent  of  her  shining 
neck  and  the  lower  arms.  Her  bright  hair  was  arranged 
in  a  mass  of  ringlets,  after  a  fashion  obtaining  in  Europe, 
and  surmounted  by  a  small  turban  of  gauze  fastened  with 
a  diamond  sun.  Many  of  the  men  who  visited  her  habit 
ually  called  her  Lady  Betty,  for  she  was  one  of  those 
women  who  invite  a  certain  playful  familiarity  while  re 
pelling  intimacy.  Hamilton  called  her,  as  the  fancy  moved 
him,  Egeria,  Boadicea,  or  Lady  Godiva. 

Clinton  came  in  fuming.  "  It  is  not  possible,"  he  cried, 
"that  the  Congress  can  be  so  mad  as  to  be  hoodwinked 
by  this  deep  political  scheme  for  concentrating  the  lib 
erties  of  the  United  States  under  the  executive  heel.  'To 
cement  more  closely  the  union  of  the  States  and  to  add  to 
their  security  against  foreign  attack  ! '  Forsooth  !  This 


336  THE   CONQUEROR 

assumption  plan  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  another  of 
his  dastardly  schemes  to  squeeze  out  of  the  poor  States 
what  little  liberty  he  left  them  under  the  Constitution. 
He  could  not  obtain  at  Philadelphia  all  he  wished  for,  but 
now  that  Washington  has  given  him  both  reins,  he  laughs 
in  our  faces.  I  regret  that  I  ever  offered  him  my  hand." 

"  Then  our  party  in  Congress  will  fight  him  on  political 
grounds?"  asked  Mrs.  Croix. 

"  You  may  put  it  that  way  if  you  choose.  It  certainly 
will  not  be  blinded  by  his  speciousness  and  aid  him  in  his 
subtle  monarchism.  '  Contribute  in  an  eminent  degree 
to  an  orderly,  stable,  and  satisfactory  arrangement  of  the 
Nation's  finances  ! '  '  Several  reasons  which  render  it 
probable  that  the  situation  of  the  State  creditors  will  be 
worse  than  that  of  the  creditors  of  the  Union,  if  there  be 
not  a  national  assumption  of  the  State  debts  ! '  And  then 
his  plan  of  debit  and  credit,  with  'little  doubt  that  bal 
ances  would  appear  in  favour  of  all  the  States  against  the 
United  States ! '  My  blood  has  boiled  since  I  read  that 
paper.  I  have  feared  apoplexy.  He  is  clever,  that  West 
Indian, — do  they  grow  many  such?  —  but  he  did  not 
select  a  country  composed  entirely  of  fools  to  machi 
nate  in." 

"  My  dearest  Governor,"  whispered  Mrs.  Croix,  "  calm 
yourself,  pray.  Only  you  can  cope  with  Mr.  Hamilton. 
You  must  be  the  colossal  spirit  without  the  walls  of  Con 
gress  to  whom  all  will  look  for  guidance.  If  you  become 
ill,  the  cause  is  lost." 

Clinton  composed  himself  promptly,  and  asked  Elbridge 
Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  which  section  of  the  Report 
he  expected  to  attack  first.  There  were  no  Federalists 
present. 

Gerry  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  shot  a  narrow  glance 
of  contempt  at  the  Governor.  "  Give  me  time,  your  Ex 
cellency,  pray.  Mr.  Hamilton's  paper  has  the  thought 
of  a  decade  in  it.  It  merits  at  least  a  week  of  thought  on 
our  part.  I  never  could  agree  with  him  in  all  things,  but 
in  some  I  am  at  one  with  him ;  and  I  acknowledge  myself 
deeply  in  his  debt,  insomuch  as  he  has  taught  me,  among 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  337 

thousands  of  others,  to  'think  continentally.'  I  certainly 
agree  with  him  that  to  pay  to  present  holders  the  full 
value  of  their  certificates,  without  discrimination,  is  a 
matter  of  constitutional  law,  a  violation  of  which  would  be 
a  menace  to  the  new  government.  I  shall  support  him  on 
that  point  at  the  risk  of  being  accused  of  speculation." 

Stone,  of  Maryland,  was  striding  up  and  down,  but  a 
degree  less  agitated  than  the  Governor  of  New  York. 

"  The  man  is  cleverer  than  all  the  rest  of  us  put  to 
gether  ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Let  us  not  forget  that  for  an 
instant.  A  greater  thought  than  this  of  assumption  has 
never  been  devised  by  man.  If  it  be  carried  into  execu 
tion, —  which  God  forbid, —  it  will  prove  a  wall  of  adamant 
to  the  Federal  government,  impregnable  to  any  attempt 
on  its  fabric  or  operations." 

"  Oh,  is  it  so  bad  as  that  ?  "  asked  Gerry.  "  Every  fort 
falls  if  the  siege  be  sufficiently  prolonged.  I  apprehend 
no  such  disaster,  and  I  confess  I  see  much  promise  in  at 
least  two  of  Mr.  Hamilton's  schemes.  After  all,  the  re 
demption  of  the  country  is  what  we  must  look  to  first." 

"  You  are  a  trimmer.  Cannot  you  see  that  if  the  whole 
revenue  of  the  States  be  taken  into  the  power  of  Congress, 
it  will  prove  a  band  to  draw  us  so  close  together  as  not  to 
leave  the  smallest  interstice  for  separation  ?  " 

"  But  do  you  meditate  separation  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Croix. 
"Surely  that  would  be  as  great  a  crime  as  Mr.  Hamilton's 
monarchical  manoeuvres  —  if  it  be  true  he  practises  such." 

"  He  is  bold  enough  about  them,"  snorted  Clinton.  "  I 
do  the  man  justice  to  recognize  his  insolent  frankness." 

"  Those  I  cannot  say  I  have  observed,"  said  Gerry. 
"  Nor  do  I  think  that  we  meditate  separation.  We  are 
struggling  out  of  one  pit.  It  would  be  folly  to  dig  a 
deeper.  And  Massachusetts  has  a  great  debt,  with  de 
creasing  revenue  for  interest  and  redemption.  I  am  not 
sure  that  assumption  would  not  be  to  her  advantage.  She 
stood  the  brunt  of  the  war.  It  is  but  fair  that  she  should 
have  relief  now,  even  at  the  expense  of  other  States  whose 
debt  is  insignificant ;  and  she  is  able  to  take  care  of  her 
self  against  the  Federal  government — " 


338  THE  CONQUEROR 

"  The  brunt  of  the  war !  "  exclaimed  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral  of  the  Cabinet,  who,  with  the  Speaker  of  the  House, 
had  just  entered,  and  who  had  controlled  himself  with 
difficulty  for  several  seconds.  "  I  beg  to  assure  you,  sir, 
that  Virginia  may  claim  that  honour.  Her  glorious  patri 
otism,  her  contributions  in  men  and  money  —  they  exceeded 
those  of  any  State  in  the  Union,  sir." 

Gerry  laughed.  "  I  have  no  means  of  comparison  by 
which  patriotism  may  be  measured,  Mr.  Randolph,"  he 
said.  "  But  we  can  produce  figures,  if  necessary,  to  prove 
our  title  to  supremacy  in  the  other  matters  you  mention. 
As  you  have  reduced  your  debt,  however,  by  an  almost 
total  repudiation  of  your  paper  money  — 

"How  about  Mr.  Madison?"  asked  Mrs.  Croix,  hur 
riedly.  "  He  is  your  fellow-statesman,  Mr.  Randolph,  but 
he  is  Mr.  Hamilton's  devoted  friend  and  follower.  Vir 
ginia  may  be  sadly  divided." 

"  My  fears  have  decreased  on  that  point,"  said  Ran 
dolph,  drily.  "  Mr.  Madison's  loyalty  toward  his  State 
increases  daily." 

"  So  does  his  ambition,"  observed  Muhlenberg.  "  If  I 
am  not  mistaken,  he  has  begun  to  chafe  at  Hamilton's 
arrangement  of  his  destinies  - —  and  a  nature  like  that  is 
not  without  deep  and  sullen  jealousies.  To  be  a  leader  of 
leaders  requires  a  sleepless  art ;  to  lead  the  masses  is  play 
by  comparison.  Hamilton  is  a  magician,  but  he  is  arro 
gant  and  impatient.  With  all  his  art  and  control  of  men's 
minds,  he  will  lose  a  follower  now  and  again,  and  not  the 
least  important  would  be  — will  be  —  Madison." 

"  Have  you  proof  ?  "  asked  Clinton,  eagerly.  "  He  would 
be  of  incomparable  value  in  our  ranks.  By  the  way, 
Aaron  Burr  is  working  to  the  front.  He  is  a  born  politi 
cian,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  and  is  in  a  rapid  process  of 
education.  I  feel  sure  that  I  have  attached  him  to  our 
cause  by  appointing  him  Attorney-General  of  the  State. 
He  should  make  an  invaluable  party  man." 

"  He  will  be  attached  to  no  cause,"  said  Gerry.  "  He 
is,  as  you  say,  a  politician.  There  is  not  a  germ  of  the 
statesman  in  him ;  nor  of  the  honest  man,  either,  unless  I 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  339 

am  deeply  mistaken.  He  is  the  only  man  of  note  in  the 
country  who  has  not  one  patriotic  act  to  his  credit.  He 
fought,  but  so  did  every  adventurous  youth  in  the  country ; 
and  had  there  been  anything  more  to  his  interest  to  do  at 
the  time,  the  Revolution  could  have  taken  care  of  itself. 
But  during  all  our  trying  desperate  years  since  —  did  he 
go  once  to  Congress  ?  Did  he  interest  himself  in  the  Con 
stitution,  either  at  Philadelphia  or  Poughkeepsie  ?  What 
record  did  he  make  in  the  State  Legislature  during  his 
one  term  of  infrequent  attendance  ?  While  other  men, 
notably  Hamilton,  of  whom  he  betrays  an  absurd  jealousy, 
have  been  neglecting  their  private  interests  in  the  public 
cause,  he  has  been  distinguishing  himself  as  a  femalist, 
and  thinking  of  nothing  else  but  making  money  at  the  bar. 
I  admit  his  brilliancy,  his  intrepidity,  and  the  exquisite 
quality  of  his  address,  but  I  don't  believe  that  an  honest 
man  who  comes  into  contact  with  him  instinctively  trusts 
him." 

"  Oh,  let  us  not  indulge  in  such  bitter  personalities," 
cried  Mrs.  Croix,  who  took  no  interest  at  that  time  in  the 
temporary  husband  of  her  old  age.  "  Surely  this  coming 
legislation  should  compel  every  faculty.  What  of  the 
other  debts  ?  —  of  funding  ?  Or,  if  it  is  still  too  soon  to 
talk  of  these  matters  with  equilibrium,"  she  added  hastily, 
as  Clinton  turned  purple  again,  "  pray  tell  me  that  the 
great  question  of  deciding  upon  a  site  for  the  Capital  is 
nearing  a  solution.  It  has  been  such  a  source  of  bitter 
agitation.  I  wish  it  were  settled." 

"  The  House  may  or  may  not  pass  this  bill  for  ten  years 
in  Philadelphia,  and  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  thereafter," 
growled  the  Senator  from  North  Carolina.  "  The  Federal 
ists  have  the  majority,  and  they  are  determined  to  keep 
the  seat  of  government  in  the  North,  as  they  are  deter 
mined  to  have  their  monarchical  will  in  everything.  Madi 
son  hopes  for  some  fortuitous  coincidence,  but  I  confess  I 
hardly  know  what  he  means." 

Gerry  laughed.  "When  Madison  takes  to  verbiage,"  he 
said,  "  I  should  resort  to  a  plummet  and  line." 

"Sir!"    cried    Randolph,  limping  toward   the    door   in 


340  THE   CONQUEROR 

angry  haste.     "  Mr.  Madison  is  one  of  the  loftiest  states 
men  in  the  country  !  " 

"  Has  been.     Centrifugal  forces  are  in  motion." 
"  How  everybody  in  politics  does  hate  everybody  else!  " 
said  Mrs.  Croix,  with  a  patient  sigh. 

XVIII 

The  next  morning  Mrs.  Croix  sent  a  peremptory  sum 
mons  to  Hamilton.  Although  at  work  upon  his  "  Addi 
tional  Estimates,"  he  responded  at  once.  The  lady  was 
combing  her  emotional  mane  in  the  sunshine  before  the 
mirror  of  her  boudoir  when  he  arrived,  and  the  maid  had 
been  dismissed. 

"  Well,  Egeria,"  he  said,  smiling  down  upon  this  dazzling 
vision,  "  what  is  it  ?  What  warning  of  tremendous  im 
port  have  you  to  deliver,  that  you  rout  a  busy  Secretary 
from  his  wouk  at  eleven  in  the  morning  ?  I  dared  not  loiter, 
lest  your  capricious  majesty  refuse  me  your  door  upon  my 
next  evening  of  leisure  —  " 

"  It  is  not  I  who  am  capricious  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Croix.  She 
pouted  charmingly.  "  Indeed,  sir,  I  never  am  quite  sure  of 
you.  You  are  all  ardour  to-day,  and  indifference  to-mor 
row.  For  work  I  am  always  put  aside,  and  against  your 
family  demands  I  do  not  exist." 

"  My  dear  Boadicea,"  said  Hamilton,  drily,  "  I  am  a 
mere  creature  of  routine.  I  met  you  after  my  habits  of 
work  and  domesticity  were  well  established.  You  are  the 
fairest  thing  on  earth,  and  there  are  times  when  you  con 
sume  it,  but  circumstances  isolate  you.  Believe  me,  I  am 
a  victim  of  those  circumstances,  not  of  caprice." 

"  My  dear  Hamilton,"  replied  Mrs.  Croix,  quite  as  drily, 
"  you  have  all  the  caprice  of  a  woman  combined  with  all 
the  lordly  superiority  of  the  male.  I  well  know  that  al 
though  I  bewitch  you,  I  can  do  so  at  your  pleasure  only. 
You  are  abominably  your  own  master,  both  in  your  strength 
and  your  weakness.  But  there  is  no  one  like  you  on  earth, 
so  I  submit.  And  I  work  and  burrow  for  you,  and  you 
will  not  even  accept  my  precious  offerings." 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  341 

"  I  will  not  have  you  playing  the  role  of  spy,  if  that  is 
what  you  mean.  I  do  not  like  this  idea  of  confessing  my 
enemies  when  they  think  themselves  safe  in  your  house. 
I  prefer  to  fight  in  the  open,  and  they  reveal  themselves 
to  me  sooner  or  later.  What  should  I  think  of  myself  and 
you  if  I  permitted  you  to  act  as  a  treacherous  go-between." 

"You  will  not  permit  me  to  help  you  !  And  I  could  do 
much  !  I  could  tell  you  so  much  now  that  would  put  you 
on  your  guard.  I  could  help  you  immeasurably.  I  could 
be  your  fate.  But  you  care  for  nothing  but  my  beauty  !  " 
And  she  dropped  dismally  into  her  pocket-handkerchief. 

Hamilton  was  not  one  of  those  men  who  dread  a 
woman's  tears.  He  had  dried  too  many.  His  immediate 
and  practical  consolation  but  appeared  to  deepen  her  grief, 
however,  and  he  was  obliged  to  resort  to  eloquence. 

"Where  do  I  find  such  hours  of  mental  companionship 
as  here  ?  "  he  demanded.  "  I  say  nothing  of  art  and  liter 
ature  ;  do  I  not  discuss  with  you  the  weightiest  affairs  of 
State  —  everything,  in  fact,  upon  which  my  honour  does  not 
compel  silence  ?  Never  have  I  thought  of  asking  the  ad 
vice,  the  opinion,  of  a  woman  before.  You  are  my  Egeria, 
and  I  am  deeply  grateful  for  you.  If  at  times  I  remember 
nothing  but  your  beauty,  would  you  have  it  otherwise  ?  I 
flatter  myself  that  you  would  not.  Have  you  really  any 
thing  to  reproach  me  for,  because  I  will  not  hear  of  your 
committing  an  act  which  I  would  not  commit  myself  ?  I 
suppose  it  is  hopeless  to  talk  of  honour  to  the  cleverest  of 
women,  but  you  must  accept  this  dictum  whether  you  under 
stand  it  or  not  :  I  will  listen  to  none  of  the  confidences  of 
your  trusting  anti-Federalists.  Why  cannot  you  come  out 
honestly  and  declare  your  true  politics  ?  You  could  do 
far  more  good,  and  I  leave  you  no  excuse  to  perpetrate 
this  lie." 

"  I  will  not,"  sobbed  his  Egeria,  obstinately.  "  I  may  be 
able  to  be  of  service  to  you,  even  if  you  will  not  let  me  warn 
you  of  Madison's  treachery." 

She  had  scored  her  point,  and  Hamilton  sprang  to  his 
feet,  his  face  as  white  as  her  petticoats.  "  Madison's 
treachery  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  It  is  true  he  comes  near  me 


342  THE   CONQUEROR 

but  seldom  this  Congress.  I  had  attributed  his  coldness 
to  temperament.  Can  it  be  ?  So  many  forces  would 
operate.  There  is  much  jealousy  and  ambition  in  him. 
He  can  never  lead  my  party.  Is  he  capable  of  deserting 
that  he  might  lead  another  ?  One  expects  that  sort  of 
thing  of  a  Burr;  but  Madison —  I  have  thought  him  of  an 
almost  dazzling  whiteness  at  times  —  then  I  have  had  light 
ning  glimpses  of  meaner  depths.  He  is  easily  influenced. 
Virginia  opposes  me  so  bitterly  !  Will  he  dare  to  continue 
to  defy  her  ?  Can  he  continue  to  rise  if  she  combines  against 
him  ?  Oh,  God  !  If  he  only  had  more  iron  in  his  soul  !  " 

It  was  characteristic  of  him  that  he  had  forgotten  his 
audience.  He  was  thinking  aloud,  his  thought  leaping 
from  point  to  point  as  they  sprang  into  the  brilliant  atmos 
phere  of  his  mind  ;  or  using  its  rapid  divining  rod.  He 
threw  back  his  head.  "  I'll  not  believe  it  till  I  have  proof  !  " 
he  exclaimed  defiantly.  "  Why,  I  should  feel  as  if  one  of 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  had  given  way.  Madison  — 
we  have  been  like  brothers.  I  have  confided  deeply  in 
him.  There  is  little  in  that  Report  of  yesterday  that  I 
have  not  discussed  with  him  a  hundred  times  —  nothing 
but  the  ways  and  means,  which  I  dared  confide  to  no  one. 
He  has  always  been  in  favour  of  assumption,  of  paying 
the  whole  debt.  It  is  understood  that  he  is  to  support 
me  in  Congress.  I'll  hear  no  more.  Dry  your  tears.  You 
have  accomplished  your  object  with  a  woman's  wit.  I 
believe  you  did  but  shed  those  tears  to  enhance  your  love 
liness,  my  Lady  Godiva." 

XIX 

The  immediate  consequences  of  Hamilton's  Report  were 
a  rise  of  fifty  per  cent  in  the  securities  of  the  bankrupt 
Confederation,  and  a  bitter  warfare  in  Congress.  All 
were  agreed  upon  the  propriety  of  paying  the  foreign 
loan,  but  the  battle  raged  about  every  other  point  in  turn. 
One  of  the  legacies  of  the  old  Congress  was  the  principle 
of  repudiating  what  it  was  not  convenient  to  redeem,  and 
the  politicians  of  the  country  had  insensibly  fallen  into  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE    GREAT"  343 

habit  of  assuming  that  they  should  start  clear  with  the  new 
government,  and  relegate  the  domestic  debt  to  the  limbo 
which  held  so  many  other  resources  best  forgotten.  They 
were  far  from  admitting  the  full  measure  of  their  inheri 
tance,  however,  and  opened  the  battle  with  a  loud  denounce 
ment  of  the  greedy  speculator  who  had  defrauded  the 
impoverished  soldier,  to  whose  needs  they  had  been 
indifferent  hitherto.  Most  of  this  feeling  concentrated 
in  the  opposition,  but  many  Federalists  were  so  divided 
upon  the  question  of  discrimination  that  for  a  time  the 
other  great  questions  contained  in  the  Report  fell  back. 
Feeling  became  so  bitter  that  those  who  supported  the 
assignees  were  accused  of  speculation,  and  personalities 
were  hot  and  blistering.  Many  of  the  strongest  men, 
however,  ranged  with  Hamilton,  and  were  in  sight  of 
victory,  when  Madison,  who  had  hoped  to  see  the  question 
settle  itself  in  favour  of  the  original  holders  without  his 
open  support,  came  out  with  a  double  bomb  ;  the  first 
symptom  of  his  opposition  to  the  Federal  party,  and  an 
unconstitutional  proposition  that  the  holders  by  assign 
ment  should  receive  the  highest  market-price  yet  reached 
by  the  certificates,  by  which  they  would  reap  no  incon 
siderable  profit,  and  that  the  balance  of  the  sum  due, 
possibly  more  than  one-half,  should  be  distributed  among 
the  original  holders.  For  a  time  the  reputation  for  state- 
manship  which  Madison  had  won  was  clouded,  for  his 
admission  of  the  claims  of  the  assignees  nullified  any  argu 
ment  he  could  advance  in  favour  of  the  original  holders. 
But  he  had  his  limitations.  There  was  nothing  of  the 
business  man  in  his  composition.  One  of  the  most  notable 
and  useful  attributes  of  Hamilton's  versatile  brain  was 
excluded  from  his,  beyond  its  comprehension.  His  propo 
sition  was  rejected  by  thirty-six  votes  to  thirteen. 

Then  the  hostile  camps  faced  each  other  on  the  ques 
tions  of  the  domestic  debt  and  assumption.  In  regard  to 
the  former,  common  decency  finally  prevailed,  but  the  other 
threatened  to  disrupt  the  Union,  for  the  Eastern  States 
threw  out  more  than  one  hint  of  secession  did  the  measure 
fail.  Madison,  without  further  subterfuge,  came  forth  at 


344  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  head  of  his  State  as  the  leader  of  the  anti-assumption- 
ists.  He  offered  no  explanation  to  his  former  chief  and 
none  was  demanded.  For  a  time  Hamilton  was  bitterly 
disgusted  and  wounded.  He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  fin 
ally,  and  accepted  his  new  enemy  with  philosophy,  though 
by  no  means  with  amiability  and  forgiveness ;  but  he  had 
seen  too  much  of  the  selfishness  and  meanness  of  human 
nature  to  remain  pained  or  astonished  at  any  defection. 

When  June  came,  however,  he  was  deeply  uneasy.  On 
March  29th  the  resolutions  providing  for  the  foreign  debt 
and  for  paying  in  full  the  principal  of  the  domestic  debt 
to  the  present  holders  passed  without  a  division.  So  did 
the  resolution  in  favour  of  paying  the  arrears  of  interest  in 
like  manner  with  the  principal  of  the  domestic  debt.  But 
the  resolution  in  favour  of  assumption  was  recommitted. 
The  next  day  the  friends  of  assumption  had  the  other 
resolutions  also  recommitted,  and  the  furious  battle  raged 
again.  Finally,  on  June  2d,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  House, 
which  left  the  question  of  assumption  to  be  settled  by  a 
future  test  of  strength. 

The  anti-assumptionists  were  triumphant,  for  they  be 
lieved  the  idea  would  gain  in  unpopularity.  But  they 
reckoned  without  Hamilton. 

XX 

Jefferson  had  arrived  on  March  2ist,  and  entered  at  once 
upon  his  duties  as  Secretary  of  State.  He  disapproved 
of  the  assumption  measure,  but  was  so  absorbed  in  the 
perplexing  details  of  his  new  office,  in  correspondence, 
and  in  frequent  conferences  with  the  President  on  the  sub 
ject  of  foreign  affairs,  that  he  gave  the  matter  little  con 
secutive  thought.  Moreover,  he  was  dined  every  day  for 
weeks,  all  the  distinguished  New  Yorkers,  from  Hamilton 
down,  vying  with  each  other  in  attentions  to  a  man  whose 
state  record  was  so  enlightened,  and  whose  foreign  sa 
brilliant,  despite  one  or  two  humiliating  failures.  He 
rented  a  small  cottage  in  Maiden  Lane,  and  looked  with 
deep  disapproval  upon  the  aristocratic  dissipations  of  New; 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  345 

York,  the  frigid  stateliness  of  Washington's  "  Court."  The 
French  Revolution  and  the  snub  of  the  British  king  had 
developed  his  natural  democratism  into  a  controlling  pas 
sion,  and  he  would  have  preferred  to  find  in  even  the  large 
cities  of  the  new  country  the  homely  bourgeois  life  of  his 
highest  ideals. 

No  one  accused  him  of  inconsistency  in  externals.  With 
his  shaggy  sandy  hair,  his  great  red  face,  covered  with 
freckles,  his  long  loose  figure,  clad  in  red  French  breeches 
a  size  too  small,  a  threadbare  brown  coat,  soiled  linen  and 
hose,  and  enormous  hands  and  feet,  he  must  have  astounded 
the  courtly  city  of  New  York,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  set 
Washington's  teeth  on  edge.  It  is  no  wonder  that  when 
this  vision  rises  upon  the  democratic  horizon  of  to-day,  he 
is  hailed  as  a  greater  man  than  Washington  or  Hamilton. 

Shortly  after  the  final  recommitment  of  the  resolution  in 
favour  of  assumption,  the  Federalist  leader  met  this  engag 
ing  figure  almost  in  front  of  Washington's  door,  and  a 
plan  which  had  dawned  in  his  mind  a  day  or  two  before 
matured  on  the  instant.  He  had  no  dislike  for  Jefferson 
at  the  time,  and  respected  his  intellect  and  diplomatic 
talents,  without  reference  to  differences  of  opinion.  Jeffer 
son  grinned  as  Hamilton  approached,  and  offered  his  great 
paw  amiably.  He  did  not  like  his  brother  secretary's 
clothes,  and  his  hitherto  averted  understanding  was  gradu 
ally  moving  toward  the  displeasing  fact  that  Hamilton  was 
the  Administration ;  but  he  had  had  little  time  for  reflection, 
and  he  succumbed  temporarily  to  a  fascination  which  few 
resisted. 

Hamilton  approached  him  frankly.  "  Will  you  walk  up 
and  down  with  me  a  few  moments  ?  "  he  asked.  "  I  have 
intended  to  call  upon  you.  You  have  returned  at  a  most 
opportune  time.  Do  you  realize,  sir,  that  the  whole  busi 
ness  of  this  nation  is  at  a  deadlock  ?  There  is  nothing  in 
this  talk  of  the  North  seceding,  but  so  great  is  the  appre 
hension  that  the  energies  of  the  country  are  paralyzed,  and 
no  man  thinks  of  anything  but  the  possible  failure  of  the 
Government.  I  am  convinced  that  assumption  is  not  only 
necessary  to  permanent  union,  to  the  solution  of  the  finan- 


346  THE   CONQUEROR 

cial  problem,  but  to  the  prosperity  of  the  States  themselves." 
He  then  proceeded  to  convince  Jefferson,  who  listened 
attentively,  wondering,  with  a  sigh,  how  any  man  could 
pour  out  his  thoughts  so  rapidly  and  so  well.  "  Will  you 
turn  this  over  in  your  mind,  and  let  me  see  you  again  in  a 
day  or  two  ? "  asked  Hamilton,  as  he  finished  his  argu 
ment.  "  Let  me  reiterate  that  there  is  no  time  to  lose. 
The  Government  is  at  a  standstill  in  all  matters  concern 
ing  the  establishment  of  the  country  on  a  sound  financial 
basis,  until  this  subordinate  matter  is  settled." 

"You  alarm  and  deeply  interest  me,"  said  Jefferson.  "I 
certainly  will  give  the  matter  my  attention.  Will  you 
dine  with  me  to-morrow  ?  We  can  then  discuss  this  mat 
ter  at  leisure.  I  will  ask  one  or  two  others." 

The  next  day,  at  Mr.  Jefferson's  epicureous  board,  Ham 
ilton  played  his  trump.  Having  again  wrought  havoc  with 
his  host's  imagination,  but  by  no  means  trusting  to  the 
permanence  of  any  emotion,  he  proposed  a  bargain :  if 
Jefferson  would  use  his  influence  with  the  Virginians  and 
other  Southern  anti-assumptionists  in  Congress,  he  and 
Robert  Morris  would  engage  to  persuade  obstinate  North 
erners  to  concede  the  Capital  city  to  the  South.  Hamilton 
made  no  sacrifice  of  conviction  in  offering  this  proposition. 
There  was  no  reason  why  the  Government  should  not  sit 
.as  conveniently  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  as  elsewhere, 
and  if  he  did  not  carry  the  Union  through  this  new  crisis, 
no  one  else  would.  All  his  great  schemes  depended  upon 
his  bringing  the  hostile  States  to  reason,  and  with  his 
usual  high-handed  impatience  he  carried  his  object  in  his 
own  way. 

Jefferson  saw  much  virtue  in  this  arrangement.  The 
plan  was  an  almost  immediate  success.  White  and  Lee 
of  Virginia  were  induced  to  change  their  votes,  and  assump 
tion  with  some  modifications  passed  into  a  law.  The  Gov 
ernment,  after  a  ten  years'  sojourn  in  Philadelphia,  would 
.abide  permanently  upon  the  Potomac. 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  347 

XXI 

Mrs.  Hamilton,  albeit  she  had  not  a  care  in  the  world, 
sighed  heavily.  She  was  standing  before  her  mirror, 
arrayed  in  a  triumph  of  art  recently  selected  by  Mrs. 
Church,  in  London.  On  her  head  was  an  immense  puff  of 
yellow  gauze,  whose  satin  foundation  had  a  double  wing 
in  large  plaits.  The  dress  was  of  yellow  satin,  flowing 
over  a  white  satin  petticoat,  and  embellished  about  the 
neck  with  a  large  Italian  gauze  handkerchief,  striped  with 
white.  Her  hair  was  in  ringlets  and  unpowdered.  She 
was  a  very  plate  of  fashion,  but  her  brow  was  puckered. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  her  husband,  entering  from  his 
room.  "  You  are  a  vision  of  loveliness,  my  dear  Eliza.  Is 
there  a  rose  too  few,  or  a  hoop  awry  ? " 

"  No,  sir,  I  am  well  enough  pleased  with  myself.  I  am 
worrying  lest  General  Washington  ask  me  to  dance.  It 
will  be  bad  enough  to  go  out  with  Mr.  Adams,  who  snaps 
at  me  every  time  I  venture  a  remark,  but  he  at  least  is 
not  a  giant,  and  I  do  not  feel  like  a  dwarf.  When  the 
President  leads  me  out  —  that  is  to  say,  when  he  did  lead 
me  out  at  the  Inauguration  ball,  I  was  like  to  expire  of 
mortification.  I  felt  like  a  little  polar  cub  trotting  out  to 
sea  with  a  monster  iceberg.  And  he  never  opened  his 
lips  to  distract  my  mind,  just  solemnly  marched  me  up 
and  down,  as  if  I  had  done  something  naughty  and  were 
being  exhibited.  I  saw  Kitty  Livingston  giggle  behind 
her  fan,  and  Kitty  Duer  drew  herself  up  to  her  full  height, 
which  is  quite  five  feet  six,  and  looked  down  upon  me 
with  a  cruel  amusement.  Women  are  so  nasty  to  each 
other.  Thank  heaven  I  have  a  new  gown  for  to-night  — 
anyhow  !  " 

Hamilton  laughed  heartily  ;  she  always  amused  him,  she 
was  half  his  wife,  half  the  oldest  of  his  children.  "  And 
you  are  fresher  far  than  any  of  them ;  let  that  console 
you,"  he  said,  arranging  her  necklace.  "  I  am  sure  both  the 
President  and  the  Vice-President  will  take  you  out ;  they 
hardly  would  have  the  bad  taste  not  to.  And  you  look 
very  sweet,  hanging  on  to  Washington's  hand.  Don't  im- 


348  THE   CONQUEROR 

agine  for  a  moment  that  you  look  ridiculous.  Fancy,  if 
you  had  to  walk  through  life  with  either  of  them." 

Betsey  shuddered  and  smoothed  her  brow.  "  It  would 
be  a  walk  with  the  dear  General,"  she  said.  "  I  dare  not 
dwell  upon  what  it  would  be  with  Mr.  Adams  —  or  any 
one  else!  You  are  amazing  smart,  yourself,  to-night." 

"  This  new  costume  depressed  me  for  a  moment,  for 
it  is  very  like  one  Laurens  used  to  wear  upon  state  occa 
sions,  but  I  had  not  the  courage  to  wear  the  light  blue 
with  the  large  gilt  buttons,  and  the  pudding  cravat  Morris 
inconsiderately  sent  me ;  not  with  Jefferson's  agonized  eye 
to  encounter.  The  poor  man  suffers  cruelly  at  our  extrava 
gance  and  elegance." 

"  He  is  an  old  fright,"  quoth  Betsey,  "  and  I'd  not 
dance  with  him,  not  if  he  went  on  his  knees." 

She  looked  her  husband  over  with  great  pride.  He 
wore  a  coat  of  plum-coloured  velvet,  a  double-breasted 
Marseilles  vest,  white  satin  breeches,  white  silk  stockings, 
and  pumps.  There  were  full  ruffles  of  lace  on  his  breast 
and  wrists.  A  man  of  to-day  has  to  be  singularly  gifted 
by  nature  to  shine  triumphant  above  his  ugly  and  uniform 
garb,  whereas  many  a  woman  wins  a  reputation  for  beauty 
by  a  combination  of  taste  with  the  infinite  range  modern 
fashion  accords  her.  In  the  days  of  which  we  write,  a 
man  hardly  could  help  looking  his  best,  and  while  far 
more  decorative  than  his  descendant,  was  equally  useful. 
And  as  all  dressed  in  varying  degrees  of  the  same  fashion, 
none  seemed  effeminate.  As  for  Hamilton,  his  head  never 
looked  more  massive,  his  glance  more  commanding,  than 
when  he  was  in  full  regalia ;  nor  he  more  ready  for  a  fight. 
All  women  know  the  psychological  effect  of  being  superla 
tively  well  dressed.  In  the  days  of  our  male  ancestors' 
external  vanities  it  is  quite  possible  that  they,  too,  felt  un 
conquerable  when  panoplied  in  their  best. 

The  ball  that  night  was  at  Richmond  Hill,  the  beautiful 
home  of  the  Vice-President  and  his  wife,  Abigail  Adams, 
one  of  the  wisest,  wittiest,  and  most  agreeable  women  of 
her  time.  This  historic  mansion,  afterward  the  home  of 
Aaron  Burr  during  his  successful  years,  was  a  country 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  349 

estate  where  Varick  Street  now  crosses  Charlton  in  the 
heart  of  the  city.  It  stood  on  an  eminence  overlooking 
the  Hudson,  surrounded  by  a  park  and  commanding  a 
view  of  the  wild  Jersey  shore  opposite.  The  Adamses 
were  ambitious  people  and  entertained  constantly,  with 
little  less  formality  than  the  President.  The  early  hours 
of  their  receptions,  indeed,  were  chilling,  and  many  went 
late,  after  dancing  was  begun  or  the  company  had  scat 
tered  to  the  card-tables.  The  Vice-President  and  his  wife 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  long  drawing-room  and  said  good 
evening,  and  no  more,  as  the  women  courtesied  to  the 
ground,  or  the  men  bowed  as  deeply  as  their  varying  years 
would  permit.  The  guests  then  stood  about  for  quite  an 
hour  and  talked  in  undertones;  later,  perhaps,  the  host 
and  hostess  mingled  with  them  and  conversed.  But  al 
though  Mrs.  Adams  was  vastly  popular,  her  distinguished 
husband  was  less  so ;  he  was  not  always  to  be  counted 
upon  in  the  matter  of  temper.  This  grim  old  Puritan,  of 
an  integrity  which  makes  him  one  of  the  giants  of  our 
early  history,  despite  the  last  hours  of  his  administration 
when  he  was  beating  about  in  the  vortex  of  his  passions, 
and  always  honest  in  his  convictions,  right  or  wrong,  had 
not  been  gifted  by  nature  with  a  pleasing  address,  al 
though  he  could  attach  people  to  him  when  he  chose. 
He  was  irascible  and  violent,  the  victim  of  a  passionate 
jealous  nature,  without  the  saving  graces  of  humour  and 
liveliness  of  temperament.  But  his  sturdy  upright  figure 
was  very  imposing ;  his  brow,  which  appeared  to  end  with 
the  tip  of  his  nose,  so  bold  was  the  curve,  would  have 
been  benevolent  but  for  the  youthful  snapping  eyes.  His 
indomitability  and  his  capacity  for  hatred  were  expressed 
in  the  curves  of  his  mouth.  He  was  always  well  dressed, 
for  although  a  farmer  by  birth,  he  was  as  pronounced  an 
aristocrat  in  his  tastes  as  Washington  or  Hamilton.  At 
this  time,  although  he  liked  neither  of  them,  he  was  the 
staunch  supporter  of  the  Government.  He  believed  in 
Federalism  and  the  Constitution,  insignificant  as  he  found 
his  rewards  under  both,  and  he  was  an  ally  of  inestimable 
value. 


350  THE   CONQUEROR 

When  the  Hamiltons  entered  his  drawing-room  to-night 
they  found  many  people  of  note  already  there,  although 
the  minuet  had  not  begun.  The  President,  his  graceful 
six  feet  in  all  the  magnificence  of  black  velvet  and  white 
satin,  his  queue  in  a  black  silk  bag,  stood  beside  his  lady, 
who  was  as  brave  as  himself  in  a  gown  of  violet  brocade 
over  an  immense  hoop.  Poor  dame,  she  would  far  rather 
have  been  at  Mount  Vernon  in  homespun,  for  all  this  pomp 
and  circumstance  bored  and  isolated  her.  She  hedged 
herself  about  with  the  etiquette  which  her  exalted  position 
demanded,  and  froze  the  social  aspirant  of  insufficient  pre 
tensions,  but  her  traditions  and  her  propensities  were  ever  at 
war ;  she  was  a  woman  above  all  things,  and  an  extremely 
simple  one. 

John  Jay,  now  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  was 
there,  as  ever  the  most  simply  attired  personage  in  the 
Union.  His  beautiful  wife,  however,  beaming  and  gra 
cious,  but  no  less  rigid  than  "  Lady  Washington,"  in  her 
social  statutes,  looked  like  a  bird  of  paradise  beside  a 
graven  image,  so  gorgeous  was  her  raiment.  Baron  Steu- 
ben  was  in  the  regalia  of  war  and  a  breastplate  of  orders. 
Kitty  Livingston,  now  Mrs.  Matthew  Ridley,  had  also 
received  a  fine  new  gown  of  Mrs.  Church's  selection,  for 
the  two  women  still  were  friends,  despite  the  rupture  of 
their  families.  Lady  Kitty  Duer,  so  soon  to  know  poverty 
and  humiliation,  was  in  a  gown  of  celestial  blue  over  a 
white  satin  petticoat,  her  lofty  head  surmounted  by  an 
immense  gauze  turban.  General  and  Mrs.  Knox,  fat, 
amiable,  and  always  popular,  although  sadly  inflated  by 
their  new  social  importance,  were  mountains  of  finery. 
Mrs.  Ralph  Izard,  Mrs.  Jay's  rival  in  beauty,  and  Mrs. 
Adams's  in  wit,  painted  by  Gainsborough  and  Copley,  wore 
a  white  gown  of  enviable  simplicity,  and  a  string  of  large 
pearls  in  her  hair,  another  about  her  graceful  throat.  Mrs. 
Schuyler,  stout  and  careworn,  from  the  trials  of  excitable 
and  eloping  daughters,  clung  to  the  kind  arm  of  her  au 
stere  and  silent  husband.  Fisher  Ames,  with  his  narrow 
consumptive  figure  and  his  flashing  ardent  eyes,  his  elo 
quent  tongue  chilled  by  this  funereal  assemblage,  had 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  35 r 

retreated  to  an  alcove  with  Rufus  King,  where  they  whis 
pered  politics.  Burr,  the  target  of  many  fine  eyes,  was 
always  loyal  to  his  wife  in  public  ;  she  was  .a  charming 
and  highly  respected  woman,  ten  years  his  senior.  Burr 
fascinated  women,  and  adorned  his  belt  with  their  scalps ; 
but  had  it  not  been  for  this  vanity,  which  led  him  to  scat 
ter  hints  of  infinite  devilment  and  conquest,  it  is  not  likely 
that  he  would  have  been  branded,  in  that  era  of  gal 
lantry,  a  devirginator  and  a  rake.  All  that  history  is  con 
cerned  with  is  his  utter  lack  of  patriotism  and  honesty, 
and  the  unscrupulous  selfishness,  from  which,  after  all,  he 
suffered  more  than  any  man.  His  dishonesties  and  his 
treasonable  attempts  were  failures,  but  he  left  a  bitter 
legacy  in  his  mastery  of  the  arts  of  political  corruption,, 
and  in  a  glittering  personality  which,  with  his  misfortunes, 
has  begodded  him  with  the  shallow  and  ignorant,  wha 
know  the  traditions  of  history  and  none  of  its  facts.  He 
was  a  poor  creature,  with  all  his  gifts,  for  his  life  was  a 
failure,  his  old  age  one  of  the  loneliest  and  bitterest  in 
history  ;  and  from  no  cause  that  facts  or  tradition  give  us 
but  the  blind  selfishness  which  blunted  a  good  understand 
ing  to  stupidity.  Selfishness  in  public  life  is  a  crime 
against  one's  highest  ambitions. 

Mrs.  Hamilton  kept  a  firm  hold  on  her  husband's  arm, 
and  her  glance  shot  apprehensively  from  Washington  to 
the  Vice-President.  The  latter  could  not  dance  at  present ; 
the  former  looked  as  if  petrified,  rooted  in  the  floor.  Bet 
sey  had  a  clever  little  head,  and  she  devised  a  scheme  at 
once.  She  was  the  third  lady  in  the  land,  and  although 
many  years  younger  than  Mrs.  Adams,  had  entertained 
from  her  cradle.  No  one  else  immediately  following  the 
entrance  of  her  husband  and  herself,  she  did  not  move  on 
after  her  courtesy,  but  drew  Mrs.  Adams  into  conversation, 
and  the  good  lady  by  this  time  was  glad  of  a  friendly 
word. 

"You  will  be  detained  here  for  an  hour  yet,"  said  Bet 
sey,  sweetly.  "Can  I  help  you?  Shall  I  start  the  minuet? 
Dear  Mr.  Adams  will  be  too  tired  to  dance  to-night.  Shall 
I  choose  a  partner  and  begin  ? " 


352  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  For  the  love  of  heaven,  do,"  whispered  Mrs.  Adams. 
"  Take  out  Colonel  Burr.  He  matches  you  in  height,  and 
dances  like  a  courtier." 

Other  people  entered  at  the  moment,  and  Betsey  whis 
pered  hurriedly  to  Hamilton:  "Go  —  quickly  —  and  fetch 
Colonel  Burr.  I  breathe  freely  for  the  first  time  since  the 
clock  struck  six,  but  who  knows  what  may  happen  ? " 

Hamilton  obediently  started  in  quest  of  Burr.  But  alas, 
Ames  and  King  darted  at  him  from  their  hiding-place 
behind  a  curtain,  and  he  disappeared  from  his  wife's 
despairing  vision.  Ten  minutes  later  he  became  aware  of 
the  familiar  strains  of  the  minuet,  and  guiltily  glanced 
forth.  Betsey,  her  face  composed  to  stony  resignation 
lest  she  disgrace  herself  with  tears,  was  solemnly  treading 
the  measure  with  the  solemnest  man  on  earth,  clutching 
at  his  hand,  which  was  on  a  level  with  her  turban.  A  turn 
of  her  head  and  she  encountered  her  husband's  contrite 
eye.  Before  hers  he  retreated  to  the  alcove,  nor  did  he 
show  himself  in  the  ball-room  again  until  it  was  time  to 
take  his  wife  to  their  coach. 

He  escaped  from  the  room  by  a  window,  and  after  half 
the  evening  in  the  library  with  a  group  of  anxious  Federal 
ists,  —  for  it  was  but  a  night  or  two  after  his  dinner  with 
Jefferson,  —  he  retired  to  a  small  room' at  the  right  of  the 
main  hall  for  a  short  conference  with  the  Chief  Justice. 
He  was  alone  after  a  few  moments,  and  was  standing 
before  the  half-drawn  tapestry,  watching  the  guests  prome 
nading  in  the  hall,  when  Kitty  Livingston  passed  on  the 
arm  of  Burr.  Their  eyes  met,  and  she  cut  him.  His 
spirits  dropped  at  once,  and  he  was  indulging  in  remi 
niscences  tinged  with  melancholy,  for  he  had  loved  her  as 
one  of  the  faithful  chums  of  his  youth,  niching  her  with 
Troup,  Fish,  and  other  enthusiastic  friends  of  that  time, 
when  to  his  surprise  she  entered  abruptly,  and  drew  the 
tapestry  behind  her. 

"You  wicked  varlet ! "  she  exclaimed.  "What  did 
you  sow  all  this  dissension  for,  and  deprive  me  of  my 
best  friends ?"  Then  she  kissed  him  impulsively.  "I  shall 
always  love  you,  though.  You  were  the  dearest  little  chap 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  353 

that  ever  was — and  that  is  why  I  am  going  to  tell  you  some 
thing  to-night,  although  I  may  never  speak  to  you  again. 
Aaron  Burr  is  burrowing  between  my  family  and  the  Clin 
ton  faction.  He  hopes  to  make  a  strong  combination,  de 
feat  General  Schuyler  at  the  next  election,  and  have  himself 
elected  senator  in  his  place.  Why,  why  did  you  alienate 
us  ?  We  are  nine  in  public  life  —  did  you  forget  that  ?  — 
and  what  was  Rufus  King  to  you  or  to  the  country  compared 
with  our  combined  strength  ?  Why  should  John  be  preferred 
to  Robert  ?  You  are  as  high-handed  and  arrogant  as  Luci 
fer  himself ;  and  generally  you  win,  but  not  always.  Burr 
has  seen  his  first  chance  for  political  preferment,  and 
seized  it  with  a  cunning  which  I  almost  admire.  He  has 
persuaded  both  the  Livingstons  and  the  Clintons  that  here 
is  their  chance  to  pull  you  down,  and  he  is  only  too  willing 
to  be  the  instrument  —  the  wretched  little  mole  !  I  shall 
hate  myself  to-morrow  for  telling  you  this,  for  God  knows 
I  am  loyal  to  my  people,  but  I  have  watched  you  go  up  — 
up  —  up.  I  should  feel  like  your  mother  would  if  I  saw 
you  in  the  dust.  I  am  afraid  it  is  too  late  to  do  anything 
now.  These  two  hostile  parties  will  not  let  slip  this 
chance.  But  get  Burr  under  your  foot  when  you  can,  and 
keep  him  there.  He  is  morbid  with  jealousy  and  will  live 
to  pull  you  down." 

"  My  dear  girl,"  exclaimed  Hamilton,  who  was  holding 
her  hand  between  both  his  own,  "  do  not  let  your  imagina 
tion  run  away  with  you.  I  am  very  well  with  Burr,  and 
he  is  jealous  by  fits  and  starts  only.  Why  in  the  name  of 
heaven  should  he  be  jealous  ?  He  has  never  given  a 
thought  to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  and  I  have  devoted 
myself  to  the  subject  since  boyhood.  If  I  reap  the  reward 
—  and  God  knows  the  future  is  precarious  enough  —  why 
should  he  grudge  me  a  power  for  which  he  has  never 
striven  ?  I  know  him  to  be  ambitious,  and  I  believe  him 
to  be  unscrupulous,  and  for  that  reason  I  have  been  glad 
that  he  has  hitherto  kept  out  of  politics ;  for  he  would  be 
of  no  service  to  the  country,  would  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice 
,  it  to  his  own  ends  —  unless  I  am  a  poor  student  of  char 
acter.  But  as  to  personal  enmity  against  me,  or  jealousy 

2A 


354  THE  CONQUEROR 

because  I  occupy  a  position  he  has  never  sought,  —  and  he 
is  a  year  older  than  I,  remember,  —  I  find  that  hard  to 
believe,  as  well  as  this  other ;  he  is  not  powerful  enough 
to  unite  two  such  factions." 

"  He  has  a  tongue  as  persuasive  from  its  cunning  as 
yours  is  in  its  impetuosity,  and  he  has  convinced  greater 
men  than  himself  of  his  usefulness.  Believe  me,  Alex 
ander,  I  speak  of  what  I  know,  not  of  what  I  suspect. 
Accept  the  fact,  if  you  will  not  be  warned.  You  always 
underrate  your  enemies.  Your  confidence  in  your  own 
genius  —  a  confidence  which  so  much  has  occurred  to  war 
rant —  blinds  you  to  the  power  of  others.  Remember  the 
old  adage :  Pride  goeth  before  a  fall  —  although  I  despise 
the  humble  myself ;  the  world  owes  nothing  to  them. 
But  I  have  often  trembled  for  the  time  when  your  high 
handed  methods  and  your  scorn  of  inferior  beings  would 
knock  the  very  foundations  from  under  your  feet.  Now, 
I  will  say  no  more,  and  we  part  for  ever.  Perhaps  if  you 
had  not  worn  that  colour  to-night,  I  should  not  have  be 
trayed  my  family  —  heaven  knows  !  We  women  are  com 
pounded  of  so  many  contradictory  motives.  Thank  your 
heaven  that  you  men  are  not  half  so  complex." 

"My  dear  friend,"  said  Hamilton,  drily,  "you  women 
are  not  half  so  complex  as  men.  You  may  lay  claim  to 
a  fair  share  because  your  intelligence  is  above  the  average, 
but  that  is  the  point  —  complexity  is  a  matter  of  intelli 
gence,  and  as  men  are,  as  a  rule,  far  more  intelligent  than 
women,  with  far  more  densely  furnished  brains  —  " 

But  here  she  boxed  his  ears  and  left  the  room.  She 
returned  in  a  moment.  "  You  have  not  thanked  me !  " 
she  exclaimed.  "  I  deserve  to  be  thanked." 

Hamilton  put  his  arm  about  her  and  kissed  her  affection 
ately. 

"From  the  bottom  of  my  heart,"  he  said.  "I  deeply 
appreciate  the  impulse — and  the  sacrifice." 

"  But  you  won't  heed,"  she  said,  with  a  sigh.  "  Good-by. 
Alexander  !  I  think  Betsey  is  looking  for  you." 


"ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT"        355 

XXII 

Hamilton  for  many  months  was  far  too  busy  with  the 
reports  he  sent  to  Congress  in  rapid  succession,  above  all 
with  the  one  concerning  the  establishment  of  a  National 
Bank,  to  be  presented  at  the  opening  of  the  next  Session, 
and  with  the  routine  of  business  connected  with  his  depart 
ment,  to  interfere  in  politics.  He  warned  General  Schuy- 
ler,  however,  and  hoped  that  the  scandal  connected  with 
the  State  lands,  in  which  Burr  was  deeply  implicated, 
would  argue  for  the  statesman  in  his  contest  with  a  mere 
politician.  But  Burr,  in  common  with  the  other  commis 
sioners,  was  acquitted,  although  no  satisfactory  explanation 
of  their  astounding  transactions  was  given,  and  General 
Schuyler  lost  the  election  as  much  through  personal 
unpopularity  as  through  the  industry  of  Burr  and  the 
determined  efforts  of  the  Livingstons.  Schuyler,  the 
tenderest  of  men  in  his  friendships,  was  as  austere  in 
his  public  manner  as  in  his  virtues,  and  inflexible  in 
demanding  the  respect  due  to  his  rank  and  position.  Of 
a  broad  intelligence,  and  a  statesman  of  respectable  stat 
ure,  he  knew  little  of  the  business  of  politics  and  cared 
less.  He  took  his  defeat  with  philosophy,  regretting  it 
more  for  the  animosity  toward  his  son-in-law  it  betokened 
than  because  it  removed  him  temporarily  from  public  life, 
and  returned  with  his  family  to  Albany.  Hamilton  was  an 
noyed  and  disgusted,  and  resolved  to  keep  his  eye  on  Burr 
in  the  future.  While  he  himself  was  in  power  the  United 
States  should  have  no  set-backs  that  he  could  prevent,  and 
if  Burr  realized  his  reading  of  his  character  he  should  man 
age  to  balk  his  ambitions  if  they  threatened  the  progress 
of  the  country.  Kitty  Livingston  he  did  not  see  again  for 
many  months,  for  her  father  died  on  July  25th.  Hamilton 
heard  of  William  Livingston's  death  with  deep  regret,  for 
Liberty  Hall  was  among  the  brightest  of  his  memories ; 
but  events  and  emotions  were  crowding  in  his  life  as  they 
never  had  crowded  before,  and  he  had  little  time  for 
reminiscence. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  I2th  of  August  to  meet  in 


356  THE   CONQUEROR 

Philadelphia  in  December.  New  York  followed  Washing 
ton  to  the  ferry  stairs  upon  the  day  of  his  departure,  weep 
ing  not  only  for  that  great  man's  loss,  but  for  the  glory  that 
went  with  him.  "  That  vile  Philadelphia,"  as  Angelica 
Church,  in  a  letter  to  Betsey  of  consolatory  lament,  charac 
terized  the  city  where  Independence  was  born,  was  to  be 
the  capital  of  the  Nation  once  more,  New  York  to  console 
herself  with  her  commerce  and  the  superior  cleanliness  of 
her  streets.  Those  who  could,  followed  the  "  Court,"  and 
those  who  could  not,  travelled  the  weary  distance  over  the 
corduroy  roads  through  the  forests,  and  over  swamps  and 
rivers,  as  often  as  circumstances  would  permit.  Of  the 
former  was  Mrs.  Croix,  whose  particular  court  protested  it 
must  have  the  solace  of  her  presence  in  a  city  to  which  few 
went  willingly.  Clinton  heaped  her  with  reproaches,  but 
she  argued  sweetly  that  he  was  outvoted,  and  that  she 
should  ever  go  where  duty  called.  "  She  felt  politics  to  be 
her  mission,"  and  in  truth  she  enjoyed  its  intrigues,  the 
double  game  she  played,  with  all  her  feminine  soul.  Ham 
ilton  would  not  help  himself  in  her  valuable  storehouse, 
but  it  pleased  her  to  know  that  she  held  dangerous  secrets 
in  her  hands,  could  confound  many  an  unwary  politician. 
And  she  had  her  methods,  as  we  have  seen,  of  springing 
upon  Hamilton  many  a  useful  bit  of  knowledge,  and  of  as 
sisting  him  in  ways  unsuspected  of  any.  She  established 
herself  in  lodgings  in  Chestnut  Street,  not  unlike  those  in 
which  she  had  spent  so  many  happy  hours  for  two  years 
past,  inasmuch  as  they  were  situated  on  the  first  floor  and 
communicated  with  a  little  garden.  Her  removal  was 
looked  upon  as  quite  natural,  and  so  admirably  did  she 
deport  herself  that  even  Mrs.  Washington  received  her  in 
time. 

Philadelphia  was  a  larger  city  than  New  York,  with  wide 
ill-kept  streets,  good  pavements,  and  many  fine  houses  and 
public  buildings.  Chestnut  Street  was  the  great  thorough 
fare,  shopping  district,  and  promenade.  It  was  a  city 
renowned  for  social  activity  and  "  crucifying  expenses." 
Naturally  its  press  was  as  jubilant  over  the  revival  of  its 
ancient  splendour  as  that  of  disappointed  New  York  was 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  357 

scurrilous  and  vindictive.  When  the  latter  was  not  cari 
caturing  Robert  Morris,  staggering  off  with  the  Administra 
tion  on  its  back,  or  "  Miss  Assumption  and  her  bastard 
brats,"  its  anti-Federal  part  was  abusing  Hamilton  as  the 
arch-fiend  who  had  sold  the  country,  and  applying  to  him 
every  adjective  of  vituperation  that  fury  and  coarseness 
could  suggest.  There  were  poems,  taunts,  jibes,  and 
squibs,  printed  as  rapidly  as  the  press  and  ingenuity  could 
turn  them  out.  If  our  ancestors  were  capable  of  appreci 
ating  the  literary  excellence  of  their  pamphleteers,  as  many 
of  those  who  have  replaced  them  to-day  could  not,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  we  do  not  rage  and  hate  so  violently. 
The  most  hysteric  effusions  of  our  yellow  press,  or  the 
caustic  utterances  of  our  reputable  newspapers,  are  tame 
indeed  before  the  daily  cyclones  of  a  time  when  every 
body  who  did  not  love  his  political  neighbor  hated  him 
with  a  deadly  virulence  of  which  we  know  little  to-day. 
We  may  be  improved,  merely  commercialized,  or  more 
diffuse  in  our  interests.  In  those  days  every  man  was  a 
politician  first  and  himself  after. 

The  violence  of  party  feeling  engendered  once  more  by 
the  debates  over  Hamilton's  Report  spread  over  the  country 
like  a  prairie  fire,  and  raged  until,  in  the  North  at  least,  it 
was  met  by  the  back  fire  of  increasing  prosperity.  As  the 
summer  waned  farmers  and  merchants  beheld  the  prices 
of  public  securities  going  up,  heard  that  in  Holland  the 
foreign  loan  had  gone  above  par,  and  that  two  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  thousand  dollars  of  the  domestic  debt  had 
been  purchased  and  cancelled  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand,  saw  trade  reviving,  felt  their  own  burdens 
lighten  with  the  banishment  of  the  State  debt.  To  sing  the 
praises  of  the  Assumption  Bill  was  but  a  natural  sequence, 
and  from  thence  to  a  constant  panegyric  of  Hamilton. 
The  anti-Federalist  press  was  drowned  in  the  North  by  the 
jubilance  of  the  Federal  and  its  increasing  recruits,  but  in 
the  South  everything  connected  with  the  Government  in 
general  and  Hamilton  in  particular  was  unholy,  and  the 
language  in  which  the  sentiment  was  expressed  was  un- 
holier. 


358  THE   CONQUEROR 

Meanwhile,  Hamilton  was  established  in  a  little  house  in 
Philadelphia,  at  work  upon  his  second  Report  on  the  Pub 
lic  Credit,  and  elaborating  his  argument  in  favour  of  a 
National  Bank.  Betsey  had  been  more  fortunate  than 
many  in  getting  her  house  in  order  within  a  reasonable 
time,  for  others  were  camping  in  two  rooms  while  the  car 
penters  hammered  over  the  rest  of  the  neglected  mansions. 
Washington  arrived  in  November  and  took  possession  of 
the  stately  home  of  Robert  Morris,  although  he  grumbled 
that  the  stables  would  hold  but  twelve  horses.  It  was  a 
splendid  mansion,  however,  and  filled  not  only  with  the 
fine  collections  of  the  rich  merchant,  but  with  many  beau 
tiful  works  of  art  that  the  President  brought  from  Mount 
Vernon.  Congress  opened  on  the  6th  of  December. 

If  Hamilton  had  given  only  an  occasional  half-amused, 
half-irritated  attention  to  the  journalistic  and  pamphlet 
warfare  in  which  he  had  been  the  target,  he  now  found 
a  domestic  engagement  confronting  him  which  commanded 
his  attentions  and  roused  all  the  fighting  Scotch  blood  in 
his  composition.  Jefferson  had  done  much  and  distress 
ful  thinking  during  the  summer  recess.  In  the  leisure  of 
his  extensive,  not  to  say  magnificent,  Virginia  estates,  and 
while  entertaining  the  neighbouring  aristocracy,  he  had 
moved  slowly  to  the  conclusion  that  he  approved  of  noth 
ing  in  the  Administration,  and  that  Hamilton  was  a  danger 
to  the  Nation  and  a  colossus  in  his  path.  Assumption  he 
held  to  be  a  measure  of  the  very  devil,  and  fumed  when 
ever  he  reflected  upon  his  part  in  its  accomplishment.  "  I 
was  made  to  hold  a  candle !  "  he  would  explain  apologeti 
cally.  "  He  hoodwinked  me,  made  a  fool  of  me." 

For  a  statesman  of  forty-seven,  and  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  and  successful  men  in  the  country,  the  literary 
author  of  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  father 
of  many  beneficent  and  popular  laws  in  his  own  State,  a 
minister  to  foreign  courts  and  one  of  the  deepest  and  sub 
tlest  students  of  human  nature  of  his  century,  to  find  him 
self  fooled  and  played  with  by  a  young  man  of  thirty-three, 
relegated  by  him  to  a  second  place  in  the  Cabinet  and  coun- 
try,  means  —  meant  in  those  days,  at  least  —  hate  of  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  359 

most  remorseless  quality.  Jefferson  was  like  a  volcano 
with  bowels  of  fire  and  a  crater  which  spilled  over  in  the 
night.  He  smouldered  and  rumbled,  a  natural  timidity  pre 
venting  the  splendour  of  fireworks.  But  he  was  deadly. 

He  and  Madison  met  often  during  these  holidays,  and  an 
object  of  their  growing  confidence  was  James  Monroe,  the 
new  Senator  from  Virginia.  Monroe  was  a  fighter,  and 
hatred  of  Hamilton  was  his  religion.  Moreover,  he  disap 
proved  with  violence  of  every  measure  of  the  new  govern 
ment,  and  everybody  connected  with  it,  from  Washington 
down,  Jefferson  excepted ;  Randolph  he  held  to  be  a  trim 
mer,  and  overlooked  the  fact  that  although  he  himself  had 
opposed  the  Constitution  with  all  his  words,  he  was  one  of 
the  first  to  take  office  under  it.  Jefferson  needed  but  this 
younger  man's  incentive  to  disapprove  more  profoundly 
not  only  assumption,  but  Hamilton's  design  to  establish  a 
National  Bank.  That  was  the  most  criminal  evidence  of 
an  ultimate  dash  for  a  throne  which  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  whose  place  in  the  Cabinet  should  have  been 
second  to  his  own,  but  who  was  the  very  head  and  front 
of  the  Administration,  had  yet  betrayed.  And  as  for  the 
triumphal  progress  of  Washington' through  the  States  in 
the  previous  autumn,  and  again  before  leaving  for  Mount 
Vernon  upon  the  close  of  the  last  Congress,  a  king  could 
have  done  no  more.  The  new  Republic  was  tottering  on 
its  rotten  foundations,  and  Jefferson  and  his  able  lieuten 
ants  vowed  themselves  to  the  rescue.  Madison  was  the 
anti-government  leader  in  the  House,  Monroe  would  abet 
him  in  the  Senate,  and  Jefferson  would  undertake  the 
fight  in  the  Cabinet.  It  cannot  be  said  that  he  liked  the 
prospect,  for  he  read  his  fellow-beings  too  well  to  mistake 
the  mettle  of  Hamilton.  He  was  a  peaceable  soul,  except 
when  in  his  study  with  pen  in  hand,  but  stem  this  monarch 
ical  tide  he  would,  and  bury  Hamilton  under  the  dam. 

"We  are  three  to  one,"  he  said  reassuringly  to  his 
coadjutors.  "  He  is  brilliant.  I  do  not  deny  it.  But 
against  a  triple  power  —  " 

"  He  is  worth  any  three  men  I  ever  knew,"  said  Madison, 
drearily.  "  We  shall  have  to  work  harder  than  he  will." 


360  THE   CONQUEROR 

Jefferson  lifted  his  pen,  and  squinted  thoughtfully  at  its 
point.  Monroe,  who  was  the  youngest  of  the  trio,  laughed 
aloud. 

And  these  were  the  forces  of  which  Hamilton  felt  the 
shock  shortly  after  the  convening  of  Congress. 

XXIII 

On  the  1 3th  of  December  Hamilton  sent  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  his  second  Report  on  Public 
Credit  —  no  longer  a  nomen  of  bitter  sarcasm  —  and  the 
Report  in  favour  of  a  National  Bank.  Congress  was  once 
more  on  edge.  Since  his  first  Great  Report,  it  had  consid 
ered  and  wrangled  over  his  successive  Reports  on  State 
Debits  and  Credits,  West  Point,  Public  Lands,  Estimates, 
and  Renewal  of  Certificates ;  and  it  had  lived  through  the 
hot  summer  on  the  prospect  of  the  excitement  which  the 
bold  and  creative  Secretary  would  surely  provide.  Even 
his  enemies  loved  Hamilton  in  their  way,  for  life  was  torpid 
when  he  rested  on  his  labours. 

The  anti-Federalists,  had  they  needed  an  additional 
incentive  for  the  coming  battle,  a  condition  to  rouse  all 
their  strength  and  mettle,  found  it  in  the  rapidly  increas 
ing  prosperity  of  the  country,  which  had  raised  Hamilton  to 
a  height  of  popularity  from  which  it  would  be  an  historic 
triumph  to  drag  him  down.  He  was,  indeed,  almost  at 
the  zenith  of  a  reputation  which  few  men  have  achieved. 
From  end  to  end  of  the  Union  his  name  was  on  every 
lip,  sometimes  coupled  with  a  hiss,  but  oftener  with  every 
expression  of  honour  and  admiration  that  the  language 
could  furnish.  Even  in  the  South  he  had  his  followers, 
and  in  the  North  and  East  it  was  hardly  worth  a  man's 
nose  to  abuse  him.  He  was  a  magician,  who  could  make 
the  fortunes  of  any  man  quick  enough  to  seize  his  oppor 
tunities,  and  the  saviour  of  the  national  honour  and  for 
tunes.  His  fame  obscured  that  of  Washington,  and  abroad 
he  was  by  far  the  most  interesting  and  significant  figure 
in  the  young  country.  No  wonder  the  anti-Federalists 
trembled  for  the  future,  and  with  all  the  vigour  of  hard- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  361 

ened  muscles  fought  his  scheme  for  allying  the  moneyed 
classes  with  the  Government. 

Hamilton  made  no  secret  of  his  design  so  closely  to  attach 
the  wealthy  men  of  the  country  to  the  central  Government 
that  they  must  stand  or  fall  with  it,  coming  to  its  rescue  in 
every  crisis  ;  and  time  has  vindicated  his  far-sighted  policy. 
But  when  the  National  Bank  was  in  the  preliminary  stages 
of  its  journey,  certain  of  its  hosts  in  Congress  saw  but 
another  horrid  menace  to  the  liberties  of  the  people, 
another  step  toward  the  final  establishment  of  a  monarchy 
after  the  British  pattern.  The  old  arguments  of  subservi 
ence  to  British  institutions  in  the  matter  of  funding,  and 
other  successful  pets  of  the  Secretary,  were  dragged  forth 
and  wrangled  over,  in  connection  with  this  new  and  doubly 
pernicious  measure  of  a  National  Bank. 

Hamilton  recommended  that  a  number  of  subscribers 
should  be  incorporated  into  a  bank,  to  be  known  as  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  ;  the  capital  to  be  ten  million  dollars  ; 
the  number  of  shares  twenty-five  thousand  ;  the  par  value 
of  each  share  four  hundred  dollars ;  the  Government  to 
become  a  subscriber  to  the  amount  of  two  millions,  and  to 
require  in  return  a  loan  of  an  equal  sum,  payable  in  ten 
yearly  instalments  of  two  hundred  thousand-  dollars  each. 
The  rest  of  the  capital  stock  would  be  open  to  the  public, 
to  be  paid  for,  one-quarter  in  gold  and  silver,  and  three- 
quarters  in  the  six  or  three  per  cent  certificates  of  the 
national  debt.  The  life  of  the  bank  was  to  end  in  1811. 
As  an  inducement  for  prompt  subscriptions  a  pledge  would 
be  given  that  for  twenty  years  to  come  Congress  would 
incorporate  no  other. 

It  is  odd  reading  for  us,  with  a  bank  in  every  street, 
not  only  those  old  diatribes  in  Congress  against  banks 
of  all  sorts,  but  Hamilton's  elaborate  arguments  in  favour 
of  banks  in  general,  the  benefits  and  conveniences  they 
confer  upon  individuals  as  well  as  nations.  But  in  those 
days  there  were  but  three  banks  in  the  Union,  and  each 
had  been  established  against  violent  opposition,  Hamilton, 
in  particular,  having  carried  the  Bank  of  New  York  through 
by  unremitting  personal  effort.  The  average  man  pre- 


j62  THE   CONQUEROR 

ferred  his  stocking.  Representatives  from  backwoods  dis 
tricts  were  used  to  such  circulating  mediums  as  military 
warrants,  guard  certificates,  horses,  cattle,  cow-bells,  land, 
and  whiskey.  They  looked  askance  at  a  bank  as  a  sort  of 
whirlpool  into  which  wealth  would  disappear,  and  bolt  out 
at  the  bottom  into  the  pockets  of  a  few  individuals  who 
understood  what  was  beyond  the  average  intellect.  But 
by  far  the  most  disquieting  objection  brought  forward 
against  this  plan  of  the  Secretary's  was  its  alleged  uncon- 
stitutionality. 

Monroe,  although  a  new  man,  and  speaking  seldom,  ex 
erted  a  systematic  opposition  in  the  Senate,  and  Madison, 
in  the  House,  argued,  with  lucidity  and  persistence,  that 
the  Constitution  had  no  power  to  grant  a  charter  to  any 
such  institution  as  the  Secretary  proposed.  Others  argued 
that  the  success  of  this  new  scheme  would  infringe  upon 
the  rights  of  the  States,  and  still  others  thundered  the 
everlasting  accusations  of  monarchical  design.  Neverthe 
less,  the  bill  for  granting  the  required  charter  passed  both 
Houses  by  a  handsome  majority.  The  able  Federalists 
had  contemptuously  dissected  the  arguments  against  it 
with  greater  skill  than  even  Madison  could  command ; 
and  confidence  in  Hamilton,  by  this  time,  practically  was 
a  religion.  The  bill  was  sent  to  Washington  to  sign  or 
veto,  and  the  anti-Federalists,  disconcerted  and  alarmed  by 
their  signal  defeat  in  Congress,  rested  their  final  hope  on 
Jefferson. 

The  President,  according  to  law,  had  but  ten  days  in 
which  to  sign  or  veto  a  bill :  if  he  hesitated  but  a  moment 
beyond  the  constitutional  limit,  the  bill  became  a  law  with 
out  his  signature.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  these  ten 
days  were  the  most  miserable  of  Washington's  life  so  far, 
although  they  were  but  the  forerunner  of  many  to  come. 

By  this  time  the  Cabinet  had  acquired  the  habit  of 
assembling  for  conference  about  a  council  table  in  the 
President's  house.  Washington  sat  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  with  Hamilton  on  his  left,  and  Jefferson  on  his  right. 
Knox,  who  would  have  frowned  upon  the  Almighty  had  he 
contradicted  Hamilton,  sat  beside  his  Captain.  Randolph 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  363 

sat  opposite,  his  principles  with  Jefferson,  but  his  intellect 
so  given  to  hair-splitting,  that  in  critical  moments  this 
passion  to  weigh  every  side  of  a  proposition  in  turn  fre 
quently  resulted  in  the  wrench  of  a  concession  by  Hamilton, 
while  Jefferson  fumed.  As  time  went  on,  Washington 
fell  into  the  habit  of  extending  his  long  arms  upon  the 
table  in  front  of  him,  and  clasping  his  imposing  hands  in 
the  manner  of  a  rampart. 

Jefferson  began  a  tentative  showing  of  his  colours  while 
the  bill  was  fighting  its  stormy  way  through  Congress, 
and  Hamilton  was  a  brief  while  perceiving  his  drift  and 
appreciating  his  implacable  enmity.  The  first  time  that 
Jefferson  encountered  the  lightning  in  Hamilton's  eye, 
the  quivering  of  his  nostril,  as  he  half  rose  from  his  chair 
under  the  sudden  recognition  of  what  he  was  to  expect,  his 
legs  slid  forward  limply,  and  he  turned  his  head  toward  the 
door.  Washington  suppressed  a  smile,  but  it  was  long 
before  he  smiled  again.  Hamilton  would  have  no  hints 
and  innuendoes ;  he  forced  his  enemy  to  show  his  hand. 
But  although  he  wrung  from  Jefferson  his  opposition  to  the 
Bank  and  to  every  scheme  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
had  proposed,  he  could  not  drag  him  into  the  open.  Jef 
ferson  was  deprecating,  politely  determined  to  serve  the 
country  in  his  own  way,  lost  in  admiration  of  this  opponent's 
intellect,  but  forced  to  admit  his  mistakes  —  the  mistakes  of 
a  too  ardent  mind.  The  more  bitter  and  caustic  the  sar 
casms  that  leaped  from  Hamilton's  tongue,  the  more  suave 
he  grew,  for  placidity  was  his  only  weapon  of  self-pres 
ervation  ;  a  war  of  words  with  Hamilton,  and  he  would  be 
made  ridiculous  in  the  presence  of  his  colleagues  and 
Washington.  Occasionally  the  volcano  flared  through  his 
pale  eyes,  and  betrayed  such  hate  and  resentment  that 
Washington  elevated  his  hands  an  inch.  The  President 
sat  like  a  stoic,  with  a  tornado  on  one  side  of  him  and  a 
growling  Vesuvius  on  the  other,  and  exhibited  an  impar 
tiality,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Jefferson  daily  betrayed  his 
hostility  to  the  Administration,  which  revealed  but  another 
of  his  superhuman  attributes.  But  there  is  a  psychological 
manifestation  of  mental  bias,  no  matter  what  the  control, 


364  THE   CONQUEROR 

and  some  men  are  sensitive  enough  to  feel  it.  Jefferson 
was  quite  aware  that  Washington  loved  Hamilton  and  be 
lieved  in  him  thoroughly,  and  he  felt  the  concealed  desire 
to  side  openly  with  the  Secretary  to  whom,  practically,  had 
been  given  the  reins  of  government.  Washington,  rather 
than  show  open  favouritism,  even  to  Hamilton,  to  whom 
he  felt  the  profoundest  gratitude,  would  have  resigned  his 
high  office ;  but  the  desire  was  in  his  head,  and  Jefferson 
felt  it.  The  campaign  open,  he  kept  up  a  nagging  siege 
upon  Washington's  convictions  in  favour  of  his  aggres 
sive  Secretary's  measures,  finding  constant  excuses  to 
be  alone  with  the  President.  Hamilton,  on  the  other 
hand,  dismissed  the  subject  when  left  alone  with  Wash 
ington,  unless  responding  to  a  demand.  He  frequently 
remained  to  the  midday  meal  with  the  family,  and  was  as 
gay  and  lively  as  if  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe  were 
in  the  limbo  to  which  he  gladly  would  have  consigned 
them.  His  nature  was  mercurial  in  one,  at  least,  of  its 
essences,  and  a  sudden  let-down,  followed  by  congenial 
company,  restored  his  equilibrium  at  once.  But  Washing 
ton  watched  the  development  of  the  blackness  and  violence 
of  his  deeper  passions  with  uneasiness  and  regret,  finally 
with  alarm. 

Hamilton,  in  truth,  was  roused  to  his  dregs.  The  sneak 
ing  retreat  of  Madison  from  his  standard  and  affections, 
the  rancorous  enmity  of  Monroe,  with  whom  he  had  fought 
side  by  side  and  been  well  with  whenever  they  had  been 
thrown  together  in  the  bitter  winters  of  inaction ;  the 
slow,  cool,  determined,  deadly  opposition  of  Jefferson, 
whom  he  recognized  as  a  giant  in  intellect  and  despised  as 
a  man  with  that  hot  contempt  for  the  foe  who  will  not 
strip  and  fight  in  the  open,  which  whips  a  passionate  nature 
to  the  point  of  fury,  had  converted  Hamilton  into  a  colossus 
of  hate  which,  as  Madison  had  intimated,  far  surpassed  the 
best  endeavours  of  the  powerful  trio.  He  hated  harder,  for 
he  had  more  to  hate  with,  —  stronger  and  deeper  passions, 
ampler  resources  in  his  intellect,  and  an  energy  of  tempera 
ment  which  Jefferson  and  Madison,  recruited  by  Monroe, 
could  not  outweigh.  He  saw  that  he  was  in  for  the  battle 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  365 

of  his  life,  and  that  its  finish  might  be  deferred  for  years ; 
for  he  made  no  such  mistake  as  to  underrate  the  strength 
and  resources  of  this  triple  enemy ;  he  knew  that  it  would 
last  until  one  or  the  other  were  worn  out.  Hamilton  had 
no  thought  of  defeat;  he  never  contemplated  it  for  a 
moment;  his  faith  in  himself  and  in  the  wisdom  of  his 
measures  was  absolute  ;  what  he  looked  forward  to  with 
the  deepest  irritation  was  the  persistent  opposition,  the 
clogging  of  his  wheels  of  progress,  the  constant  personal 
attacks  which  might  weaken  him  with  the  country  before 
his  multitudinous  objects  should  be  accomplished.  He 
suggested  resource  after  resource  to  his  faithful  and  brill 
iant  disciples  in  Congress,  and  he  determined  to  force 
Jefferson  to  leave  the  Cabinet. 

"  If  he  only  would  take  himself  out  of  that  room  with  a 
defiant  admission  that  he  intended  to  head  the  opposite 
party  and  fight  me  to  the  death !  "  he  exclaimed  to  Mrs. 
Croix,  one  day.  "  What  right  has  he  to  sit  there  at 
Washington's  hand,  a  member  of  his  Cabinet,  ostensibly 
in  its  first  place,  and  at  war  with  every  measure  of  the 
Administration  ?  He  cannot  oppose  me  without  involv 
ing  the  President,  under  whom  he  holds  office,  and  if  he 
had  a  grain  of  decent  feeling  he  would  resign  rather  than 
occupy  such  an  anomalous  position." 

"  He  intends  to  force  you  to  resign." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  he  is  coming  here  ?  "  asked 
Hamilton,  in  disgust.  "  Who  next  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  succumbed  quite  three  weeks  ago,"  said 
Mrs.  Croix,  gaily.  "  He  amuses  me,  and  I  am  instilling 
the  conviction  that  no  human  being  can  force  you  to  do 
anything  you  don't  want  to  do,  and  that  the  sooner  he 
retreats  gracefully  the  better." 

Hamilton  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  made  no  answer. 
He  had  ceased  remonstrance  long  since.  If  it  pleased  her 
to  think  she  was  fighting  the  battles  he  was  forced  to 
fight  with  undiminished  vigour  himself,  he  should  be  the 
last  to  interfere  with  her  amusement.  She  was  a  born 
intrigante,  and  would  have  been  miserable  freckling  her 
complexion  in  the  open  sunlight.  He  was  too  grateful  to 


366  THE   CONQUEROR 

her  at  this  time  to  risk  a  quarrel,  or  to  condemn  her  for 
any  of  her  violations  of  masculine  standards.  It  was  to 
her  he  poured  out  his  wrath,  after  an  encounter  with 
Jefferson  which  had  roused  him  too  viciously  for  reaction 
at  Washington's  board  or  at  his  own.  His  wife  he  spared 
in  every  way.  Not  only  was  her  delicate  health  taxed  to 
the  utmost  with  social  duties  which  could  not  be  avoided, 
the  management  of  her  household  affairs,  and  an  absorb 
ing  and  frequently  ailing  family,  but  he  would  have  con 
trolled  himself  had  he  burst,  before  he  would  have  terrified 
her  with  a  glimpse  of  passions  of  whose  existence  she  had 
not  a  suspicion.  To  her  and  his  family  he  was  ever  the 
most  amiable  and  indulgent  of  men,  giving  them  every 
spare  moment  he  could  command,  and  as  delighted  as  a 
schoolboy  with  a  holiday,  when  he  could  spend  an  hour  in 
the  nursery,  an  evening  with  his  wife,  or  take  a  ramble 
through  the  woods  with  his  boys.  He  took  a  deep  pride 
in  his  son  Philip,  directed  his  studies  and  habits,  and  was 
as  pleased  with  every  evidence  of  his  progress  as  had  he 
seen  Madison  riding  a  rail  in  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers. 
He  coddled  and  petted  the  entire  family,  particularly  his 
little  daughter  Angelica,  and  they  adored  him,  and  knew 
naught  of  his  depths. 

But  Mrs.  Croix  knew  them.  In  her  management  of 
Hamilton  she  made  few  mistakes,  passionately  as  she 
loved  him.  It  was  in  her  secluded  presence  he  stormed 
himself  cool,  was  indignantly  sympathized  with  first,  then 
advised,  then  soothed.  He  was  made  to  understand  that 
the  more  he  revealed  the  black  and  implacable  deeps  of  his 
nature,  the  more  was  he  worshipped,  the  more  keen  the  re 
sponse  from  other  and  not  dissimilar  deeps.  His  wife  was 
necessary  to  him  in  many  ways,  his  Egeria  in  many  more. 
Although  he  would  have  sacrificed  the  last  to  the  first,  had 
it  come  to  an  issue,  he  would  have  felt  as  if  one-half  of  him 
had  been  cruelly  divorced.  Few  women  understand  this 
dual  nature  in  men,  and  few  are  the  men  who  do  not.  It 
has  been  known  to  exist  in  those  who  make  no  pretensions 
to  genius,  and  in  Hamilton  was  as  natural  as  the  versatility 
of  his  intellect.  When  with  one  he  locked  the  other  in  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  367 

recesses  of  his  mind  as  successfully  as  when  at  college  he 
had  accomplished  herculean  feats  of  mental  accumulation 
by  keeping  but  one  thing  before  his  thought  at  a  time. 
What  he  wanted  he  would  have,  so  long  as  his  family  were 
in  no  way  affected ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  Mrs.  Croix  at 
this  time,  it  might  have  been  worse  for  Betsey.  She  cooled 
his  fevers  ;  her  counsel  was  always  sound.  And  her  rooms 
and  herself  were  beautiful.  She  had  her  way  of  banishing 
the  world  by  drawing  her  soft  blue  curtains  and  lighting 
her  many  candles.  Had  she  been  a  fool,  Hamilton  would 
have  tired  of  her  in  a  month ;  as  it  was,  he  often  thought 
of  her  as  the  most  confidential  and  dispensing  of  his 
friends,  and  no  more. 

During  the  preceding  two  years  of  their  acquaintance 
there  had  been  many  quarrels,  caused  by  furious  bursts  of 
temper  on  the  part  of  the  lady,  when  Hamilton  forgot  her 
for  a  month  or  more.  There  were  times  when  she  was  the 
solitary  woman  of  Earth,  and  others  when  she  might  have 
reigned  on  Mars.  He  was  very  busy,  and  he  had  count 
less  interests  to  absorb  time  and  thought.  He  never  pre 
tended  to  more  than  a  romantic  passion  for  her,  and  deep 
as  was  her  own  infatuation,  it  was  sometimes  close  to 
hate ;  for  she  was  a  woman  whose  vanity  was  as  strong  as 
her  passions.  At  this  time,  however,  he  felt  a  frequent 
need  of  her,  and  she  made  the  most  of  the  opportunity. 

XXIV 

Meanwhile,  Washington,  deeply  disturbed  by  the  argu 
ments  in  the  press  and  Congress  against  the  constitution 
ality  of  the  National  Bank,  had  privately  asked  for  the 
written  opinions  of  Jefferson  and  Randolph,  and  for  a 
form  of  veto  from  Madison.  They  were  so  promptly 
forthcoming  that  they  might  have  been  biding  demand. 
Washington  read  them  carefully,  then,  too  worried  and 
impatient  for  formalities,  carried  them  himself  to  Hamil 
ton's  house. 

"  For  God's  sake  read  them  at  once  and  tell  me  what 
they  amount  to,"  he  said,  throwing  the  bundle  of  papers 


368  THE   CONQUEROR 

on  the  table.  "  Of  course  you  must  prepare  me  an  answer 
in  writing,  but  I  want  your  opinion  at  once.  I  will  wait." 

Long  years  after,  when  Betsey  was  an  old  woman,  some 
one  asked  her  if  she  remembered  any  incidents  in  connec 
tion  with  the  establishment  of  the  great  Bank.  She  replied, 
"  Yes,  I  remember  it  all  distinctly.  One  day  General 
Washington  called  at  the  house,  looking  terribly  worried. 
He  shut  himself  up  in  the  study  with  my  husband  for 
hours,  and  they  talked  nearly  all  the  time.  When  he 
went  away  he  looked  much  more  cheerful.  That  night  my 
husband  did  not  go  to  bed  at  all,  but  sat  up  writing ;  and 
the  next  day  we  had  a  Bank." 

Hamilton's  answer,  both  verbally  and  in  a  more  elabo 
rate  form,  was  so  able  and  sound  a  refutation  of  every  point 
advanced  by  the  enemy  that  Washington  hesitated  no 
longer  and  signed  the  bill  during  the  last  moments  remain 
ing  to  him.  Years  later,  when  the  same  question  was 
raised  again,  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  the  most  brilliant 
ornament,  by  common  consent,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  has  had,  admitted  that  he  could  add  nothing 
to  Hamilton's  argument.  It  must,  also,  have  convinced 
Madison ;  for  while  President  of  the  United  States,  and  his 
opportunity  for  displaying  the  consistencies  of  his  intellect, 
unrivalled,  he  signed  the  charter  of  the  Second  National 
Bank.  Monroe,  whose  party  was  in  power,  and  able  to  de 
feat  any  obnoxious  measure  of  the  Federalists,  advocated 
the  second  Bank  as  heartily  as  he  had  cursed  the  first.  His 
defence  of  his  conduct  was  a  mixture  of  insolent  frankness 
and  verbiage.  He  said :  "As  to  the  constitutional  objec 
tion,  it  formed  no  serious  obstacle.  In  voting  against  the 
Bank  in  the  first  instance,  I  was  governed  essentially  by 
policy.  The  construction  I  gave  to  the  Constitution  I  con 
sidered  a  strict  one.  In  the  latter  instance  it  was  more 
liberal  but,  according  to  my  judgement,  justified  by  its 
powers."  If  anyone  can  tell  what  he  meant,  doubtless  his 
own  shade  would  be  grateful. 

Hamilton's  second  Report  on  the  Public  Credit  had  been 
buffeted  about  quite  as  mercilessly  as  the  Report  in  favour 
of  a  bank.  The  customs  officers  had,  during  the  past  year, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  369 

collected  $1,900,000,  which  sufficed  to  pay  two-thirds  of 
the  annual  expenses  of  the  Government.  There  was  still 
a  deficit  of  $826,000,  and  to  meet  future  contingencies  of 
a  similar  nature,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  urged  the 
passage  of  an  Excise  Bill. 

Even  his  enemies  admired  his  courage,  for  no  measure 
could  be  more  unpopular,  raise  more  widespread  wrath. 
It  was  regarded  as  a  deliberate  attempt  to  deprive  man  of 
his  most  cherished  vice ;  and  every  argument  was  brought 
forth  in  opposition,  from  the  historic  relation  of  whiskey  to 
health  and  happiness,  to  the  menace  of  adopting  another 
British  measure.  The  bill  passed ;  but  it  was  a  different 
matter  to  enforce  it,  as  many  an  excise  officer  reflected, 
uncheerfully,  whilst  riding  a  rail.  On  the  28th  of  January 
Hamilton  sent  in  his  Report  in  favour  of  the  establishment 
of  a  mint,  with  details  so  minute  that  he  left  the  framers 
of  the  necessary  bill  little  excuse  for  delay ;  but  it  had  the 
same  adventurous  and  agitated  experience  of  its  predeces 
sors,  and  only  limped  through,  in  an  amended  form,  after 
the  wildest  outburst  of  democratic  fanaticism  which  any 
of  the  measures  of  Hamilton  had  induced.  The  proposi 
tion  to  stamp  the  coins  with  the  head  of  the  President  was 
conclusive  of  an  immediate  design  to  place  a  crown  upon 
the  head  of  Washington.  Doubtless  the  leaders  of  the 
Federal  party,  under  the  able  tuition  of  their  despot,  had 
their  titles  ready,  their  mine  laid.  Jefferson,  in  the  Cabi 
net,  protested  with  such  solemn  persistence  against  so  dan 
gerous  a  precedent,  and  Hamilton  perforated  him  with  such 
arrows  of  ridicule,  that  Washington  exploded  with  wrath, 
and  demanded  to  know  if  neither  never  intended  to  yield 
a  point  to  the  other. 

During  this  session  of  Congress,  Hamilton  also  sent  in 
Reports  on  Trade  with  India  and  China,  and  on  the  Dutch 
Loan.  He  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  forget  his  ene 
mies  for  days  and  even  weeks  at  a  time,  when  his  existence 
was  so  purely  impersonal  that  every  capacity  of  his  mind, 
save  the  working,  slept  soundly.  By  now,  he  had  his  de 
partment  in  perfect  running  order  ;  and  his  successors  have 
accepted  his  legacy,  with  its  infinitude  of  detail,  its  unvary- 


370  THE   CONQUEROR 

ing  practicality,  with  gratitude  and  trifling  alterations. 
When  Jefferson  disposed  himself  in  the  Chair  of  State,  in 
1 80 1,  he  appointed  Albert  Gallatin  —  the  ablest  financier, 
after  Hamilton,  the  country  has  produced  —  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  begged  him  to  sweep  the  department 
clean  of  the  corruption  amidst  which  Hamilton  had  sat  and 
spun  his  devilish  schemes.  Gallatin,  after  a  thorough  and 
conscientious  search  for  political  microbes,  informed  his 
Chief  that  in  no  respect  could  the  department  be  improved, 
that  there  was  not  a  trace  of  crime,  past  or  present. 
Jefferson  was  disconcerted ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  his 
administrations  were  passed  complacently  amidst  Hamilton 
legacies  and  institutions.  Jefferson's  hour  had  come.  He 
could  undo  all  that  he  had  denounced  in  his  rival  as  mo 
narchical,  aristocratical,  pernicious  to  the  life  of  Democ 
racy.  But  the  administrations  of  Jefferson,  Madison,  and 
Monroe,  ran  from  first  to  last  on  those  Federal  wheels 
which  are  still  in  use,  protected  within  and  without  by 
Federal  institutions.  But  their  architect  was  sent  to  his 
grave  soon  after  the  rise  of  his  arch-enemy  to  power,  was 
beyond  humiliation  or  party  triumph ;  it  would  be  folly  to 
war  with  a  spirit,  and  greater  not  to  let  well  enough  alone. 
But  that  is  a  far  cry.  Meanwhile  the  Bank  was  being 
rushed  through,  and  its  establishment  was  anticipated  with 
the  keenest  interest,  and  followed  by  a  season  of  crazy 
speculation,  dissatisfaction,  and  vituperation.  But  this 
Hamilton  had  expected,  and  he  used  his  pen  constantly 
to  point  out  the  criminal  folly  and  inevitable  consequences 
of  speculation. 

XXV 

Congress  adjourned  while  the  excitement  was  at  its 
height.  Washington  went  to  Mount  Vernon,  the  Cabinet 
scattered,  and  there  was  an  interval  of  peace.  Philadel 
phia  in  summer  was  always  unhealthy,  and  liable  to  an 
outbreak  of  fever  at  any  moment.  Hamilton  sent  his 
family  to  the  Schuyler  estate  at  Saratoga.  Mrs.  Croix  had 
gone  as  early  as  May  to  the  New  England  coast ;  for  even 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  371 

her  magnificent  constitution  had  felt  the  strain  of  that 
exciting  session,  and  Philadelphia  was  not  too  invigorating 
in  winter.  Hamilton  remained  alone  in  his  home,  glad  of 
the  abundant  leisure  which  the  empty  city  afforded  to  catch 
up  with  the  arrears  of  his  work,  to  design  methods  for 
financial  relief  against  the  time  to  apply  them,  and  to 
prepare  his  Report  on  Manufactures,  a  paper  destined  to 
become  as  celebrated  and  almost  as  widespread  in  its  influ 
ence  as  the  great  Report  on  Public  Credit.  It  required 
days  and  nights  of  thinking,  research,  correspondence, 
comparison,  and  writing ;  and  how  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
mass  of  business,  this  keen  anxiety  regarding  the  whirlwind 
of  speculation — which  was  involving  some  of  the  leading 
men  in  the  country,  and  threatening  the  young  Government 
with  a  new  disaster ;  how,  while  sitting  up  half  the  night 
with  his  finger  on  the  public  pulse,  waiting  for  the  right 
moment  to  apply  his  remedies,  he  managed  to  entangle 
himself  in  a  personal  difficulty,  would  be  an  inscrutable 
mystery,  were  any  man  but  Alexander  Hamilton  in  ques 
tion. 

I  shall  not  enter  into  the  details  of  the  Reynolds  affair. 
No  intrigue  was  ever  less  interesting.  Nor  should  I  make 
even  a  passing  allusion  to  it,  were  it  not  for  its  political 
ultimates.  A  couple  of  blackmailers  laid  a  trap  for  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  he  walked  into  it,  as  the 
wisest  of  men  have  done  before  and  since,  when  the  woman 
has  been  sufficiently  attractive  at  the  right  moment.  This 
woman  was  common  and  sordid,  but  she  was  young  and 
handsome,  and  her  affectation  of  violent  attachment,  if 
ungrammatical,  was  plausible  enough  to  convince  any  man 
accustomed  to  easy  conquest ;  and  the  most  astute  of  men, 
provided  his  passions  be  strong  enough,  can  be  fooled  by 
any  woman  at  once  designing  and  seductive.  Ardent  sus 
ceptibility  was  in  the  very  essence  of  Hamilton,  with  Scot 
land  and  France  in  his  blood,  the  West  Indies  the  mould 
of  his  youthful  being,  and  the  stormy  inheritance  of  his 
parents. 

But  although  Hamilton  might  succumb  to  a  woman  of 
Mrs.  Reynold's  type,  she  could  not  hold  him.  After  liber 


372  THE   CONQUEROR 

ally  relieving  the  alleged  pecuniary  distress  of  this  charmer, 
and  weary  of  her  society,  he  did  his  best  to  get  rid  of  her. 
She  protested.  So  did  he.  It  was  then  that  he  was  made 
aware  of  the  plot.  The  woman's  husband  appeared,  and 
announced  that  only  a  thousand  dollars  would  heal  his 
wounded  honour,  and  that  if  it  were  not  immediately  forth 
coming,  he  would  write  to  Mrs.  Hamilton. 

Hamilton  was  furious.  His  first  impulse  was  to  tell  the 
man  to  do  his  worst,  for  anything  in  the  nature  of  coercion 
stripped  him  for  the  fray  at  once.  But  an  hour  of  reflec 
tion  cooled  his  blood.  No  one  was  to  blame  but  himself. 
If  he  had  permitted  himself  to  be  made  a  fool  of,  it  was 
but  just  that  he  should  take  the  consequences,  and  not 
cruelly  wound  the  woman  he  loved  the  better  for  his  vaga 
ries.  Moreover,  such  a  scandal  would  "seriously  affect  the 
high  office  he  filled,  might  indeed  force  him  to  resignation  ; 
not  only  thwarting  his  great  ambitions,  but  depriving  the 
country  of  services  which  no  other  man  had  the  ability  or 
the  will  to  render.  And  a  few  moments  forecast  of  the 
triumph  of  his  enemies,  not  only  over  himself  but  possibly 
over  his  party,  in  case  of  his  downfall,  was  sufficient  in  itself 
to  force  him  to  terms.  Few  are  the  momentous  occasions  in 
which  men  are  governed  by  a  single  motive.  Hamilton's 
ambitions  were  welded  into  the  future  happiness  and  glory 
of  the  country  he  had  so  ardently  adopted.  And  if  love  of 
power  was  his  ruling  passion,  it  certainly  was  directed  to  the 
loftiest  of  ends.  To  desire  to  create  a  nation  out  of  the 
resources  of  a  vast  understanding,  controlled  by  wisdom 
and  honour,  is  an  ambition  which  should  be  dignified  with 
a  higher  name.  Small  and  purely  personal  ambitions  were 
unknown  to  Hamilton,  his  gifts  were  given  him  for  the 
elevation  of  the  human  race ;  but  he  would  rather  have 
reigned  in  hell  than  have  sunk  to  insignificance  on  earth. 
As  he  remarked  once  to  Kitty  Livingston,  the  complexity 
of  man  so  far  exceeds  that  of  the  average  woman,  com 
plexity  being  purely  a  matter  of  brain  and  having  no  roots 
whatever  in  sex,  that  it  were  a  waste  of  valuable  time  to 
analyze  its  ramifications,  and  the  crossings  and  entangle 
ments  of  its  threads.  Hamilton  paid  the  money,  yielded 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  373 

further  to  the  extent  of  several  hundred  dollars,  then  the 
people  disappeared,  and  he  hoped  that  he  had  heard  the  last 
of  them.  Fortunately  his  habits  were  methodical,  the  re 
sult  of  his  mercantile  training  on  St.  Croix,  and  he  pre 
served  the  correspondence. 

XXVI 

Hamilton  looked  forward  to  the  next  Congressional 
term  with  no  delusions.  He  polished  his  armour  until  it 
was  fit  to  blind  his  adversaries,  tested  the  temper  of  every 
weapon,  sharpened  every  blade,  arranged  them  for  im 
mediate  availment.  In  spite  of  the  absorbing  and  dis 
concerting  interests  of  the  summer,  he  had  followed  in 
thought  the  mental  processes  of  his  enemies,  kept  a  sharp 
eye  out  for  their  new  methods  of  aggression.  Themselves 
had  had  no  more  intimate  knowledge  of  their  astonishment, 
humiliation,  and  impotent  fury  at  the  successive  victories 
of  the  invulnerable  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  than  had 
Hamilton  himself.  He  knew  that  they  had  confidently 
hoped  to  beat  him  by  their  combined  strength  and  unre 
mitting  industry,  and  by  the  growing  power  of  their  party, 
before  the  finish  of  the  preceding  term.  The  Federalists 
no  longer  had  their  former  majority  in  Congress  upon  all 
questions,  for  many  of  the  men  who,  under  that  title,  had 
been  devoted  adherents  of  the  Constitution,  were  become 
alarmed  at  the  constant  talk  of  the  monarchical  tendencies 
of  the  Government,  of  the  centralizing  aristocratic  measures 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  at  the  "  unrepublican  " 
formalities  and  elegance  of  Washington's  "  Court,"  at  his 
triumphal  progresses  through  the  country,  and  at  the 
enormous  one-man  power  as  exhibited  in  the  person  of 
Hamilton.  Upon  these  minds  Jefferson,  Madison,  and 
Monroe  had  worked  with  unremitting  subtlety.  It  was 
not  so  much  that  the  early  Federalists  wished  to  see 
Hamilton  dragged  from  his  lofty  position,  for  they  ad 
mired  him,  and  were  willing  to  acknowledge  his  services  to 
the  country ;  but  that  the  idea  grew  within  them  that  he 
must  be  properly  checked,  lest  they  suddenly  find  them- 


374  THE   CONQUEROR 

selves  subjects  again.  They  realized  that  they  had  been 
running  to  him  for  advice  upon  every  matter,  great  and 
insignificant,  since  the  new  Congress  began  its  sittings,  and 
that  they  had  adopted  the  greater  part  of  his  counsels 
without  question  ;  they  believed  that  Hamilton  was  becom 
ing  the  Congress  as  he  already  was  the  Administration ; 
and  overlooked  the  fact  that  legislative  authority  as  against 
executive  had  no  such  powerful  supporter  as  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  But  it  was  not  an  era  when  men  reasoned 
as  exhaustively  as  they  might  have  done.  They  were 
terrified  by  bogies,  and  the  blood  rarely  was  out  of  their 
heads.  "  Monarchism  must  be  checked,"  and  Hamilton  for 
some  months  past  had  watched  the  rapid  welding  of  the 
old  anti-Federalists  and  the  timid  Federalists  into  what  was 
shortly  to  be  known,  for  a  time,  as  the  Republican  party. 
That  Jefferson  had  been  at  work  all  summer,  as  during  the 
previous  term,  with  his  subtle,  insinuating,  and  convincing 
pen,  he  well  knew,  and  for  what  the  examples  of  such  men 
as  Jefferson  and  Madison  counted  — taking  their  stand  on 
the  high  ground  of  stemming  the  menace  to  personal  liber 
ties.  The  Republican  party  was  to  be  stronger  far  than  the 
old  anti-Federal,  for  it  was  to  be  a  direct  and  constant  appeal 
to  the  controlling  passion  of  man,  vanity;  and  Hamilton  be 
lieved  that  did  it  obtain  the  reins  of  power  too  early  in 
the  history  of  the  Nation,  confusion,  if  not  anarchy,  would 
result :  not  only  was  it  too  soon  to  try  new  experiments, 
diametrically  opposed  to  those  now  in  operation,  but, 
under  the  tutelage  of  Jefferson,  the  party  was  in  favour 
of  vesting  more  power  in  the  masses.  Hamilton  had  no 
belief  in  entrusting  power  to  any  man  or  body  of  men  that 
had  not  brains,  education,  and  a  developed  reasoning 
capacity.  He  was  a  Republican  but  not  a  Democrat.  He 
recognized,  long  before  the  rival  party  saw  their  mistake 
in  nomenclature,  that  this  Jefferson  school  marked  the  de 
generacy  of  republicanism  into  democracy.  Knowing  how 
absurd  and  unfounded  was  all  the  hysterical  talk  about 
monarchism,  and  that  time  would  vindicate  the  first 
Administration  and  its  party  as  Republican  in  its  very 
essence,  he  watched  with  deep,  and  often  with  impersonal, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  375 

uneasiness  the  growth  of  a  party  which  would  denational 
ize  the  government,  scatter  its  forces,  and  interpret  the 
Constitution  in  a  fashion  not  intended  by  the  most  pro 
testing  of  its  framers.  Hamilton  had  in  an  extraordinary 
degree  the  faculty  which  Spencer  calls  representativeness; 
but  there  were  some  things  he  could  not  foresee,  and  one 
was  that  when  the  Republicans  insinuated  themselves  to 
power  they  would  rest  on  their  laurels,  let  play  the  inherent 
conservatism  of  man,  and  gladly  accept  the  goods  the 
Federal  party  had  provided  them.  The  three  men  who 
wrote  and  harangued  and  intrigued  against  Hamilton  for 
years,  were  to  govern  as  had  they  been  the  humblest  of 
Hamiltonians.  But  this  their  great  antagonist  was  in 
unblest  ignorance  of,  for  he,  too,  reasoned  in  the  heat  and 
height  and  thick  of  the  fray ;  and  he  made  himself  ready 
to  dispute  every  inch  of  the  ground,  checkmate  every 
move,  force  Jefferson  into  retirement,  and  invigorate  and 
encourage  his  own  ranks.  The  majority  in  both  Houses 
was  still  Federal,  if  diminished,  and  he  determined  that  it 
should  remain  so. 

As  early  as  October  his  watching  eye  caught  the  first 
flash  in  the  sunlight  of  a  new  blade  in  the  enemies'  ar 
moury.  One  Freneau  had  come  to  town.  He  had  some 
reputation  as  a  writer  of  squibs  and  verses,  and  Hamilton 
knew  him  to  be  a  political  hireling  utterly  without  prin 
ciple.  When,  therefore,  he  heard  incidentally  that  this 
man  had  lately  been  in  correspondence  and  conference 
with  the  Virginian  junta,  and  particularly  that  he  had 
been  "  persuaded  by  his  old  friend  Madison  to  settle  in 
Philadelphia,"  had  received  an  appointment  as  translat 
ing  clerk  in  the  Department  of  State,  and  purposed  to 
start  a  newspaper  called  the  National  Gazette  in  opposi 
tion  to  Fenno's  Administration  organ,  The  United  States 
Gazette,  he  knew  what  he  was  to  expect.  Fenno's  paper 
was  devoted  to  the  Administration,  and  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  in  particular ;  it  was  the  medium  through 
which  Hamilton  addressed  most  of  his  messages  to  the 
people.  Naturally  it  was  of  little  use  to  his  enemies ;  and 
that  Jefferson  and  his  aides  had  realized  the  value  of  an 


376  THE   CONQUEROR 

organ  of  attack,  he  divined  very  quickly.  He  stated  his 
suspicions  to  Washington  immediately  upon  the  President's 
arrival,  and  warned  him  to  expect  personal  assault  and 
abuse. 

"  There  is  now  every  evidence  of  a  strong  and  admirably 
organized  cabal,"  he  added.  "And  to  pull  us  down  they 
will  not  stop  at  abuse  of  even  you,  if  failure  haunts  them. 
I  shall  get  the  most  of  it,  perhaps  all.  I  hope  so,  for  I 
am  used  to  it." 

He  laughed,  and  quite  as  light-heartedly  as  ever;  but 
Washington  looked  at  him  with  uneasiness. 

"You  are  a  terrible  fighter,  Hamilton,"  he  said.  "I 
have  never  seen  or  dreamed  of  your  equal.  Why  not 
merely  oppose  to  them  a  massive  resistance  ?  Why  be 
continually  on  the  warpath  ?  They  give  you  a  tentative 
scratch,  and  you  reply  with  a  blow  under  the  jaw,  from 
which  they  rise  with  a  sullener  determination  to  ruin  you, 
than  ever.  When  you  are  alone  with  your  pen  and  the 
needs  of  the  country,  you  might  have  the  wisdom  of  a 
thousand  years  in  your  brain,  and  I  doubt  if  at  such  times 
you  remember  your  name ;  you  are  one  of  the  greatest, 
wisest,  coolest  statesmen  of  any  age ;  but  the  moment  you 
come  forth  to  the  open,  you  are  not  so  much  a  political 
leader  as  a  warlike  Scot  at  the  head  of  his  clan,  and  readier 
by  far  to  make  a  dash  into  the  neighbouring  fastness  than 
to  wait  for  an  attack.  Are  you  and  Jefferson  going  to 
fight  straight  through  this  session?  —  for  if  you  are,  I 
shall  no  longer  yearn  so  much  for  the  repose  of  Mount 
Vernon  as  for  the  silences  of  the  tomb." 

Washington  spoke  lightly,  as  he  often  did  when  they 
were  alone,  and  he  had  returned  from  Virginia  refreshed ; 
but  Hamilton  answered  contritely  :  — 

"We  both  behaved  abominably  last  year,  and  it  was 
shocking  that  you  should  bear  the  brunt  of  it.  I'll  do 
my  best  to  control  myself  in  the  Cabinet  —  although  that 
man  rouses  all  the  devil  in  me ;  but  not  to  fight  at  the 
head  of  my  party.  Oh !  Can  the  leopard  change  his 
spots  ?  I  fear  I  shall  die  with  my  back  against  the  wall, 
sir,  and  my  boots  on." 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  377 

"  I  haven't  the  slightest  doubt  of  it.  But  be  careful  of 
giving  too  free  and  constant  a  play  to  your  passions  and 
your  capacity  for  rancour,  or  your  character  will  deterio 
rate.  Tell  me,"  he  added  abruptly,  narrowing  his  eyes 
and  fixing  Hamilton  with  a  prolonged  scrutiny,  "  do  you 
not  feel  its  effects  already  ? " 

By  this  time  the  early,  half-unwilling,  half-magnetized 
affection  which  the  boy  in  Hamilton  had  yielded  to  his 
Chief  had  given  place  to  a  consistent  admiration  for  the 
exalted  character,  the  wisdom,  justice,  and  self-control  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  a  devoted  attach 
ment.  The  bond  between  the  two  men  grew  closer  every 
day,  and  only  the  end  of  all  things  severed  it.  Hamilton, 
therefore,  replied  as  frankly  as  if  Washington  had  asked 
his  opinion  on  the  temper  of  the  country,  instead  of  prob 
ing  the  sacred  recesses  of  his  spirit :  — 

"  There  have  been  times  when  I  have  sat  down  and 
stared  into  myself  with  horror;  when  I  have  felt  as  if 
sitting  in  the  ruins  of  my  nature.  I  have  caught  myself 
up  again  and  again,  realizing  where  I  was  drifting.  I 
have  let  a  fiend  loose  within  me,  and  I  have  turned  upon 
it  at  times  with  a  disgust  so  bitter  and  a  terror  so  over 
mastering  that  the  mildness  which  has  resulted  has  made 
me  feel  indifferent  and  even  amiable  to  mine  enemies. 
Whether  this  intimate  knowledge  of  myself  will  save  me,  God 
knows  ;  but  when  some  maddening  provocation  comes,  after 
reaction  has  run  its  course,  I  rage  more  hotly  than  ever, 
and  only  a  sense  of  personal  dignity  keeps  me  from  using 
my  fists.  I  am  two-thirds  passion,  and  I  am  afraid  that  in 
the  end  it  will  consume  me.  I  live  so  intensely,  in  my 
best  and  my  worst !  I  would  give  all  I  possess  for  your 
moderation  and  balance." 

"  No,  you  would  not,"  said  Washington.  "  War  is  the 
breath  of  your  nostrils,  and  peace  would  kill  you.  Not 
that  the  poise  I  have  acquired  brings  me  much  peace  in 
these  days." 

Hamilton,  who  had  spoken  dejectedly,  but  with  the  deep 
relief  which  every  mortal  feels  in  a  moment  of  open  and 
safe  confession,  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  stood  on  the  hearth 


378  THE   CONQUEROR 

rug,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  humour.  "  Confess,  sir,"  he 
cried  gaily.  "  You  do  not  like  Jefferson  any  better  than  I 
do.  Fancy  him  opposite  to  you  day  after  day,  stinging 
you  with  honeyed  shafts  and  opposing  you  with  obstacle 
after  obstacle,  while  leering  with  hypocrisy.  Put  yourself 
in  my  place  for  an  instant,  and  blame  me  if  you  can." 

"Oh,"  said  Washington,  with  a  deep  growl  of  disgust, 
"  o-h-h  !  "  But  he  would  not  discuss  his  Secretary  of  State, 
even  with  Hamilton. 

XXVII 

The  bombardment  from  Freneau's  Gazette  opened  at 
once.  It  began  with  a  general  assault  upon  the  Adminis 
tration,  denouncing  every  prominent  member  in  turn  as  a 
monarchist  or  an  aristocrat,  and  every  measure  as  sub 
versive  of  the  liberties  of  the  country.  Vice-President 
Adams  received  a  heavy  broadside,  his  "  Discourses  on 
Davila,"  with  their  animadversions  upon  the  French  Revo 
lution  in  particular  and  Democracy  in  general,  being  re 
garded  as  a  heinous  offence  against  the  spirit  of  his  country, 
and  detrimental  to  the  political  morals  of  the  American 
youth.  But  although  the  Gazette  kept  up  its  pretence 
of  being  an  anti-Administration  organ,  publishing  in  the 
interests  of  a  deluded  people,  it  soon  settled  down  to  abuse 
of  Hamilton. 

That  a  large  number  of  the  articles  were  from  Jefferson's 
damning  pen  few  of  the  Republican  leader's  friends  denied 
with  any  warmth,  and  the  natural  deductions  of  history 
would  have  settled  the  question,  had  not  Freneau  himself 
confessed  the  truth  in  his  old  age.  What  Jefferson  did 
not  write,  he  or  Madison  inspired,  and  Freneau  had  a  lively 
pen  of  his  own.  They  had  promising  material  in  General 
St.  Clair's  recent  and  disastrous  defeat  by  the  Indians, 
which,  by  a  triumph  of  literary  ingenuity,  was  ascribed  to 
the  ease  and  abundance  with  which  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  had  caused  money  to  circulate.  But  a  far  stronger 
weapon  for  their  malignant  use  was  the  ruinous  speculation 
which  had  maddened  the  country  since  the  opening  of  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  379 

Bank  of  the  United  States.  It  was  not  enough  that  the 
Bank  was  a  monarchical  institution,  a  machine  for  the  cor 
ruption  of  the  Government,  a  club  of  grasping  and  moneyed 
aristocrats,  but  it  had  been  purposely  designed  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  few  —  the  "corrupt  squadron,"  namely,  the  Sec 
retary  and  his  friends  —  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  The 
subsequent  failure  for  $3,000,000  of  one  of  these  friends, 
William  Duer,  gave  them  no  pause,  for  his  ruin  precipitated 
a  panic,  and  but  added  distinction  to  his  patron's  villany. 

For  a  time  Hamilton  held  his  peace.  He  had  enough  to 
do,  steering  the  financial  bark  through  the  agitated  waters 
of  speculation,  without  wasting  time  on  personal  recrimina 
tion.  Even  when,  before  the  failure,  he  was  accused  of 
being  in  secret  partnership  with  Duer,  he  did  not  pause  for 
vindication,  but  exerted  himself  to  alleviate  the  general  dis 
tress.  He  initiated  the  practice,  followed  by  Secretaries  of 
the  Treasury  at  the  present  moment,  of  buying  Government 
loan  certificates  in  different  financial  centres  throughout 
the  country,  thus  easing  the  money  market,  raising  the 
price  of  the  certificates,  and  strengthening  the  public  credit. 
He  used  the  sinking-fund  for  this  purpose. 

There  was  comparative  peace  in  the  Cabinet,  an  armed 
truce  being,  perhaps,  a  more  accurate  description  of  an 
uneasy  psychological  condition.  Hamilton  had  made  up 
his  mind  not  only  to  spare  Washington  further  annoyance, 
if  possible,  but  to  maintain  a  dignity  which  he  was  keenly 
conscious  of  having  relinquished  in  the  past.  The  two 
antagonists  greeted  each  other  politely  when  they  met  for 
the  first  time  in  the  Council  Chamber,  although  they  had 
crossed  the  street  several  times  previously  to  avoid  meet 
ing  ;  and  if  Jefferson  discoursed  unctiously  and  at  length, 
whenever  the  opportunity  offered,  upon  the  lamentable 
consequences  of  a  lamentable  measure,  and  indulged  in 
melancholy  prognostications  of  a  general  ruin,  in  which  the 
Government  would  disappear  and  be  forgotten,  Hamilton 
replied  for  a  time  with  but  an  occasional  sarcasm,  and 
a  change  of  subject.  One  day,  however,  a  long-desired 
opportunity  presented  itself,  and  he  did  not  neglect  it. 
He  was  well  aware  that  Jefferson  had  complained  to  Vir- 


380  THE   CONQUEROR 

ginia  that  he  had  been  made  to  hold  a  candle  to  the  wily 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  the  matter  of  assumption,  in 
other  words,  that  his  guileless  understanding,  absorbed  in 
matters  of  State,  had  been  duped  into  a  bargain  of  which 
Virginia  did  not  approve,  despite  the  concession  to  the 
Potomac. 

About  two  months  after  Congress  opened,  Washington, 
as  his  Cabinet  seated  itself,  was  detained  in  his  room  with 
a  slight  indisposition,  but  sent  word  that  he  would  appear 
presently.  For  a  time,  Randolph  and  Knox  talked  fe 
verishly  about  the  Indian  troubles,  while  Hamilton  looked 
over  some  notes,  and  Jefferson  watched  his  antagonist 
covertly,  as  if  anticipating  a  sudden  spring  across  the  table. 
Hamilton  was  not  in  a  good  humour.  He  was  accustomed 
to  abuse  in  Congress,  and  that  it  was  again  in  full  tide  con 
cerned  him  little,  for  he  was  sure  of  ultimate  victories  in 
both  Houses ;  and  words  which  were  powerless  to  result  in 
a  defeat  for  himself,  or  his  party,  he  treated  with  the  scorn 
which  impotence  deserved.  But  it  was  another  matter  to 
have  his  private  character  assailed  day  after  day  in  the 
press,  to  watch  a  subtle  pen  insinuate  into  the  public  mind 
that  a  woman  imperilled  her  reputation  in  receiving  him, 
and  that  he  was  speculating  in  secret  with  the  reckless 
friend  whom  he  had  warned  over  and  over,  and  begged  to 
desist.  Freneau  sent  him  three  copies  of  the  Gazette  daily, 
lest  he  miss  something,  and  he  had  that  morning  left  Betsey 
in  tears.  Fenno  was  fighting  the  Secretary's  battles  val 
iantly  ;  but  there  was  only  one  pen  in  America  which  could 
cope  with  Jefferson's,  and  that  was  Hamilton's  own.  But 
aside  from  his  accumulating  cares,  it  was  a  strife  to  which 
he  did  not  care  to  descend.  To-day,  however,  he  needed 
but  a  match,  and  Jefferson,  who  experienced  a  fearful 
fascination  in  provoking  him,  applied  it. 

"  I  hear  that  Duer  is  on  the  verge  of  failure,"  he  re 
marked  sadly. 

"Yes,"  said  Hamilton  ;  "  he  is." 

"  I  hold  it  to  be  a  great  misfortune  that  he  has  been 
connected  with  the  Administration  in  any  way." 

"  His  connection  was  quite  distinct  from  your  depart- 


"ALEXANDER  THE    GREAT"  381 

ment.  I  alone  was  responsible  for  his  appointment  as  my 
assistant.  There  is  no  necessity  for  you  to  shed  any  hypo 
critical  tears." 

"  What  concerns  the  honour  of  the  Administration 
naturally  concerns  the  Secretary  of  State." 

"  There  is  no  question  of  honour.  If  Duer  fails,  he  will 
fail  honourably,  and  the  Administration,  with  which  he  is 
no  longer  connected,  will  in  no  way  be  involved." 

"  Of  those  facts  of  course  I  am  sure,  but  I  fear  the 
reflections  in  the  press." 

"  Keep  your  own  pen  worthily  employed,  and  the  Ad 
ministration  will  take  care  of  itself." 

"I  do  not  understand  you,  sir,"  said  Jefferson,  with 
great  dignity. 

"  I  am  quite  ready  to  be  explicit.  Keep  your  pen  out 
of  Freneau's  blackguard  sheet,  while  you  are  sitting  at 
Washington's  right  hand,  at  all  events  — 

Jefferson  had  elevated  both  hands.  "  I  call  Heaven  to 
witness,"  he  cried,  "this  black  aspersion  upon  my  char 
acter  is,  has  been,  entirely  a  production  of  the  imagination 
of  my  enemies.  I  have  never  written  nor  inspired  a  line 
in  Mr.  Freneau's  paper." 

Hamilton  laughed  and  returned  to  his  notes. 

"  You  do  not  believe  me,  sir? "  demanded  Jefferson,  the 
blood  boiling  slowly  to  his  large  face. 

"  No,"  said  Hamilton  ;  "  I  do  not." 

Jefferson  brought  his  mighty  fist  down  upon  the  table 
with  a  bang.  "  Sir  !  "  he  exclaimed,  his  husky  voice  un 
pleasantly  strained,  "  I  have  stood  enough  from  you.  Are 
you  aware  that  you  have  called  me  a  liar,  sir  ?  I  have 
suffered  at  your  hands  since  the  day  I  set  foot  in  this 
country.  I  left  the  peace  and  retirement  that  I  love,  to 
come  forth  in  response  to  a  demand  upon  my  duty,  a 
demand  I  have  ever  heeded,  and  what  has  been  my 
reward  ?  The  very  first  act  I  was  tricked  into  committing 
was  a  crime  against  my  country —  " 

"  Were  you  in  your  dotage,  sir  ?  "  thundered  Hamilton, 
springing  to  his  feet,  and  bringing  his  own  hand  down 
with  such  violence  that  the  lead  in  his  cuff  dented  his 


382  THE   CONQUEROR 

wrist.  "  Was  your  understanding  enfeebled  with  age,  that 
you  could  not  comprehend  the  exhaustive  explanation  I 
made  of  the  crisis  in  this  country's  affairs  ?  Did  I  not 
give  you  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  think  it  over? 
What  were  you  doing  —  muddling  your  brains  with  French 
wines  ?  —  that  you  could  not  reason  clearly  when  relieved 
of  my  baleful  fascination  ?  Were  you  not  protected  on 
the  following  day  by  two  men,  who  were  more  your  friends 
than  mine  ?  I  proposed  a  straightforward  bargain,  which 
you  understood  as  well  then  as  you  do  now.  You  realized 
to  the  full  what  the  interests  of  the  country  demanded, 
and  in  a  rare  moment  of  disinterested  patriotism  you 
agreed  to  a  compromise  in  which  you  saw  no  detriment  to 
yourself.  What  you  did  not  anticipate  was  the  irritation 
of  your  particular  State,  and  the  annoyance  to  your  vanity 
of  permitting  a  younger  man  to  have  his  way.  Now  let 
me  hear  no  more  of  this  holding  a  candle,  and  the  tricking 
of  an  open  mind  by  a  wily  one,  unless  you  are  willing  to 
acknowledge  that  your  brain  was  too  weak  to  grasp  a 
simple  proposition ;  in  which  case  you  had  better  resign 
from  public  office." 

"  I  know  that  is  what  you  are  trying  to  force  me  to  do," 
gasped  Jefferson,  almost  speechless  between  rage  and 
physical  fear;  for  Hamilton's  eyes  were  flashing,  his  body 
curved  as  if  he  meditated  immediate  personal  violence. 
"  But  I'll  not  do  it,  sir,  any  more  than  I  or  anyone  else 
will  be  deluded  by  the  speciousness  of  your  language. 
You  are  an  upstart.  You  have  no  State  affinities,  you 
despise  them  for  a  very  good  reason  —  you  come  from 
God  knows  where  —  I  do  not  even  know  the  name  of  the 
place.  You  are  playing  a  game.  You  care  nothing  for 
the  country  you  were  not  born  in.  Unless  you  can  be 
king,  you  would  treat  it  as  your  toy." 

"  For  your  absurd  personalities  I  care  nothing,"  said 
Hamilton,  reseating  himself.  "  They  are  but  the  ebulli 
tions  of  an  impotence  that  would  ruin  and  cannot.  But 
take  heed  what  you  write,  for  in  injuring  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  you  injure  the  prosperity  of  the  country  ;  and 
if  you  push  me  too  far,  I'll  expose  you  and  make  you 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  383 

infamous.     Here  comes  the  President.     For  God's   sake 
bottle  your  spite  for  the  present." 

The  two  men  did  not  exchange  a  remark  during  the 
rest  of  the  sitting,  but  Jefferson  boiled  slowly  and  steadily ; 
Hamilton's  words  had  raised  welts  under  which  he  would 
writhe  for  some  time  to  come.  When  the  Cabinet  ad 
journed  he  remained,  and  followed  Washington  into  the 
library,  under  cover  of  a  chat  about  seeds  and  bulbs,  a 
topic  of  absorbing  interest  to  both.  When  their  legs  were 
extended  before  the  fire,  Jefferson  said,  as  abruptly  as  if 
the  idea  had  but  just  presented  itself  :  — 

"  Mr.  President,  we  are  both  Virginians,  and  had  cut  our 
wisdom  teeth  —  not  that  for  a  moment  I  class  myself  with 
you,  sir —  while  young  Hamilton  was  still  in  diapers." 

"  Children  do  not  wear  diapers  in  the  West  Indies,"  in 
terrupted  Washington,  in  his  gravest  accents.  "  I  spent 
some  months  on  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  in  the  year  sev 
enteen  hundred  and  fifty-one." 

"  Was  he  born  in  the  West  Indies  ?  I  had  never  heard. 
But,  if  I  may  continue,  I  have  therefore  summoned  up  my 
courage  to  speak  to  you  on  a  subject  close  to  my  heart  — 
for  no  subject  can  be  so  close  as  the  welfare  of  a  country 
to  which  we  have  devoted  our  lives." 

He  paused  a  moment,  prepared  with  an  answer,  did  the 
President  haughtily  warn  him  not  to  transgress  the  bounds 
of  etiquette  ;  but  Washington  was  staring  at  the  fire,  appar 
ently  recalling  the  scenery  of  the  Tropics. 

Jefferson  continued  :  "  In  the  length  and  breadth  of  this 
Union  there  is  not  a  man,  not  even  the  most  ardent  Repub 
lican,  who  has  not  implicit  faith  in  the  flawless  quality  of 
your  patriotism  and  in  your  personal  wisdom  ;  but,  and 
possibly  unknown  to  you,  sir,  the  extreme  and  high-handed 
measures,  coupled  with  the  haughty  personal  arrogance,  of 
our  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  have  inspired  a  widespread 
belief,  which  is  permeating  even  his  personal  friends,  that 
he  entertains  subtle  and  insidious  monarchical  designs, 
is  plotting  to  convert  our  little  Republic  into  a  kingdom. 
Personally,  I  do  not  believe  this  — 

"  I  should  hope  not.     You  have  always  seemed  to  me  to 


384  THE   CONQUEROR 

be  a  man  of  singular  wisdom  and  good  sense.  Therefore 
I  feel  sure  that  you  are  as  heartily  sick  of  all  this  absurd 
talk  about  monarchism  as  I  am.  There  is  not  a  word 
of  truth  in  Mr.  Hamilton's  '  monarchical  designs ' ;  it  is 
impossible  that  you  should  not  know  this  as  well  as  I  do. 
You  must  also  be  as  well  aware  that  he  has  rendered  ser 
vices  to  this  country  which  will  be  felt  as  long  as  it  remains 
united.  It  is  doubtful  if  anyone  else  could  have  rendered 
these  same  services,  for,  to  my  knowledge  at  least,  we  have 
no  man  in  the  country  who  combines  financial  genius  with 
an  unexampled  boldness  and  audacity.  He  has  emphat 
ically  been  the  man  for  the  hour,  abruptly  transferred  from 
his  remote  birthplace,  it  has  seemed  to  me,  by  a  special 
intervention  of  Providence;  free  of  all  local  prejudices, 
which  have  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  the  curse  of  this 
country,  and  with  a  mettle  unacted  upon  by  years  of  doubt 
and  hesitation.  I  do  no  other  man  in  public  life  an  injus 
tice  in  my  warm  admiration  of  Mr.  Hamilton's  genius  and 
absolute  disinterestedness.  Each  has  his  place,  and  is  doing 
his  part  bravely  and  according  to  his  lights,  many  of  them 
rendering  historic  services  which  Mr.  Hamilton's  will  not 
overshadow.  His  are  equally  indisputable.  This  unfortu 
nate  result  of  establishing  a  National  Bank  was  doubtless 
inevitable,  and  will  quickly  disappear.  That  the  Bank  is  a 
monarchical  device,  you,  of  all  men,  are  too  wise  to  believe 
for  a  moment.  Leave  that  for  such  sensational  scoundrels 
as  the  editors  of  this  new  Gazette  and  of  other  papers.  I 
regret  that  there  is  a  personal  antipathy  between  you  and 
Mr.  Hamilton,  but  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  you 
believe  in  his  integrity  as  firmly  as  I  do." 

Jefferson  was  scowling  heavily.  "  I  am  not  so  sure  that 
I  do,  sir,"  he  said ;  inconsistent  often  in  his  calmest  tem 
pers,  passion  dissipated  his  power  of  consecutive  thought. 
"When  Mr.  Hamilton  and  I  were  on  friendly  terms  —  be 
fore  he  took  to  annoying  me  with  a  daily  exhibition  of  per 
sonal  rancour,  from  which  I  have  been  entirely  free  —  he 
has  often  at  my  own  table  avowed  his  admiration  of  the 
British  Constitution,  deprecated  the  weakness  of  our  own 
admirable  instrument,  tacitly  admitted  his  regret  that  we 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  385 

are  a  republic  and  not  a  kingdom.  I  have  his  very  words 
in  my  diary.  He  is  committed  out  of  his  own  mouth.  I 
not  only  believe  but  know  him  to  be  a  lover  of  absolute 
monarchy,  and  that  he  has  no  faith  that  this  country  can 
continue  to  exist  in  its  present  shape.  It  is  for  that  reason 
I  hold  him  to  be  a  traitor  to  the  country  with  which  he  is 
merely  amusing  himself." 

"  Sir,"  said  Washington,  turning  to  Jefferson  an  immobile 
face,  in  which  the  eyes  were  beginning  to  glitter,  "  is  a  man 
to  be  judged  by  his  private  fancies  or  by  his  public  acts  ? 
I  know  nothing  of  Mr.  Hamilton's  secret  desires.  Neither, 
I  fancy,  do  you.  We  do  know  that  he  has  resigned  a  brill 
iant  and  profitable  practice  at  the  bar  to  guide  this  un 
fortunate  country  out  of  bankruptcy  and  dishonour  into 
prosperity  and  every  promise  of  a  great  and  honourable 
future.  Pray  let  the  matter  rest  there  for  the  present.  If 
Mr.  Hamilton  be  really  a  liar  and  a  charlatan,  rest  assured 
he  will  betray  himself  before  any  great  harm  is  done.  Every 
man  is  his  own  worst  enemy.  I  was  deeply  interested  in 
what  you  were  saying  when  we  entered  this  room.  Where 
did  you  say  you  purchased  those  lily  bulbs  ?  My  garden 
is  sadly  behind  yours,  I  fear.  I  certainly  shall  enter  upon 
an  amiable  rivalry  with  you  next  summer." 

And  Jefferson  knew  better  than  to  persist. 

XXVIII 

On  January  28th  Hamilton  sent  to  Congress  his  Report 
on  Manufactures,  and  how  anybody  survived  the  fray 
which  ensued  can  only  be  explained  by  the  cast-iron  mus 
cles  forged  in  the  ancestral  arena.  Hamilton  had  no 
abstract  or  personal  theories  regarding  tariff,  and  would 
have  been  the  first  to  denounce  the  criminal  selfishness 
which  distinguishes  Protection  to-day.  The  situation  was 
peculiar,  and  required  the  application  of  strictly  business 
methods  to  a  threatening  and  immediate  emergency.  Great 
Britain  was  oppressing  the  country  commercially  by  every 
method  her  council  could  devise.  Defensive  legislation  was 
imperative.  Moreover,  if  the  country  was  to  compete  with 


386  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  nations  of  the  world  and  grow  in  independent  wealth, 
particularly  if  it  would  provide  internal  resources  against 
another  war,  it  must  manufacture  extensively,  and  its  manu 
factures  must  be  protected.  Such,  in  brief,  was  the  argu 
ment  of  one  of  the  ablest  State  papers  in  any  country,  for 
whose  exhaustive  details,  the  result  of  two  years  of  study 
and  comparison,  of  research  into  the  commercial  conditions 
of  every  State  in  Europe,  there  is  no  space  here.  The  bat 
tle  was  purely  political,  for  the  measure  was  popular  with 
the  country  from  the  first.  It  was  opposed  by  the  planters, 
with  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe  in  the  lead.  They 
argued  that  the  measure  would  burden  the  people  at  large  ; 
that  the  country  was  too  remunerative  not  to  be  able  to 
take  care  of  itself ;  that  progress  should  be  natural  and  not 
artificial ;  that  the  measure  was  unconstitutional ;  above  all, 
as  the  reader  need  hardly  be  told,  that  no  proposition 
had  yet  been  advanced  by  the  monarchical  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  so  "  paternal,"  so  conclusive  of  his  ultimate 
designs.  "  To  let  the  thirteen  States,  bound  together  in  a 
great  indissoluble  union,  concur  in  erecting  one  great  sys 
tem,  superior  to  the  control  of  transatlantic  force  and  influ 
ence,  and  able  to  dictate  the  connection  between  the  old 
and  the  new  world,"  was  but  another  subtle  device  to  con 
solidate  the  States  for  sudden  and  utter  subversion  when 
Hamilton  had  screwed  the  last  point  into  his  crown.  That 
in  the  Twentieth  Century  the  United  States  would  be  an 
object  of  uneasiness  daily  approaching  to  terror  in  the  eyes 
of  Great  Britain  and  Europe,  as  a  result  of  this  Report,  even 
Hamilton  himself  did  not  foresee,  much  less  the  planters; 
nor  that  it  would  carry  through  the  War  of  1812  without 
financial  distress.  Above  all,  did  no  one  anticipate  that 
the  three  Virginians,  in  their  successive  incumbencies  of 
the  Executive  Chair,  would  pursue  the  policy  of  protection 
in  unhesitating  obedience  to  the  voice  of  the  people.  The 
first  result  of  this  Report  was  the  great  manufacturing  inter 
ests  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  which  celebrated  their  cen 
tennial  a  few  years  ago.  Paterson  was  Hamilton's  personal 
selection,  and  it  still  throbs  with  something  of  his  own  energy. 
Meanwhile  he  was  being  elected  an  honorary  member  of 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  387 

colleges  and  societies  of  arts  and  letters,  and  persecuted 
by  portrait  painters  and  sculptors.  Every  honour,  public 
and  private,  was  thrust  upon  him,  and  each  new  victory 
was  attended  by  a  public  banquet  and  a  burst  of  popular 
applause.  He  was  apparently  invulnerable,  confounding 
his  opponents  and  enemies  without  effort.  Never  had 
there  been  such  a  conquering  hero ;  even  the  Virginian 
trio  began  to  wonder  uneasily  if  he  were  but  mortal,  if  he 
were  not  under  some  mighty  and  invisible  protection.  As 
for  the  Federalists,  they  waxed  in  enthusiasm  and  devotion. 
His  career  was  at  its  zenith.  No  man  in  the  United  States 
was  —  nor  has  been  since  —  so  loved  and  so  hated,  both  in 
public  and  in  private  life.  Even  Washington's  career  had 
not  been  more  triumphant,  and  hardly  so  remarkable;  for 
he  was  an  American  born,  had  always  had  a  larger  meas 
ure  of  popular  approval,  and  never  had  discovered  the 
faculty  of  raising  such  bitter  and  powerful  enemies.  Nor 
had  he  won  an  extraordinary  reputation  until  he  was  long 
past  Hamilton's  present  age.  Certainly  he  had  never  ex 
hibited  such  unhuman  precocity. 

But  although  Hamilton  had,  by  this  time,  extancy  to 
suffice  any  man,  and  was  hunted  to  his  very  lair  by  society, 
he  had  no  thought  of  resting  on  his  labours.  He  by  no 
means  regarded  himself  as  a  demi-god,  nor  the  country  as 
able  to  take  care  of  itself.  He  prepared,  and  sent  to  Con 
gress  in  rapid  succession,  his  Reports  on  Estimates  for 
Receipts  and  Expenditures  for  1791-92,  on  Loans,  on 
Duties,  on  Spirits,  on  Additional  Supplies  for  1792,  on  Re 
mission  of  Duties,  and  on  the  Public  Debt. 

Nor  did  his  labours  for  the  year  confine  itself  to  reports. 
On  August  4th,  his  patience  with  the  scurrilities  of  Fre- 
neau's  Gazette  came  to  an  end,  and  he  published  in  Fenno's 
journal  the  first  of  a  series  of  papers  that  Jefferson,  in  the 
hush  of  Monticello,  read  with  the  sensations  of  those  fore 
fathers  who  sat  on  a  pan  of  live  coals  for  the  amusement 
of  Indian  warriors.  Hamilton  was  thorough  or  nothing. 
He  had  held  himself  in  as  long  as  could  be  expected  of 
any  mortal  less  perfected  in  his  self-government  than 
George  Washington ;  but  when,  finally,  he  was  not  only 


388  THE   CONQUEROR 

stung  to  fury  by  the  constant  and  systematic  calumnies  of 
Jefferson's  slanting  art,  but  fearful  for  the  permanence 
of  his  measures,  in  the  gradual  unsettling  of  the  public 
mind,  he  took  off  his  coat;  and  Jefferson  knew  that  the 
first  engagement  of  the  final  battle  had  begun  in  earnest, 
that  the  finish  would  be  the  retirement  of  one  or  other 
from  the  Cabinet. 

Hamilton  began  by  mathematically  demonstrating  that 
Freneau  was  the  tool  of  Jefferson,  imported  and  suborned 
for  the  purpose  of  depressing  the  national  authority,  and 
exposed  the  absurdity  of  the  denials  of  both.  When  he 
had  finished  dealing  with  this  proposition,  its  day  for  being 
a  subject  of  animated  debate  was  over.  He  then  laid  be 
fore  the  public  certain  facts  in  the  career  of  Jefferson  with 
which  they  were  unacquainted :  that  he  had  first  discoun 
tenanced  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  and  then  advised 
the  ratification  of  nine  of  the  States  and  the  refusal  of  four 
until  amendments  were  secured,  —  a  proceeding  which  in 
fallibly  would  have  led  to  civil  war ;  that  he  had  advocated 
the  transfer  of  the  debt  due  to  France  to  a  company  of 
Hollanders  in  these  words :  "  If  there  is  a  danger  of  the 
public  debt  not  being  punctual,  I  submit  whether  it  may 
not  be  better,  that  the  discontents  which  would  then  arise 
should  be  transferred  from  a  court  of  whose  good-will  we 
have  so  mucli  need  to  the  breasts  of  a  private  company"  — 
an  obviously  dishonourable  suggestion,  particularly  as  the 
company  in  view  was  a  set  of  speculators.  It  was  natural 
enough,  however,  in  a  man  whose  kink  for  repudiation  in 
general  led  him  to  promulgate  the  theory  that  one  genera 
tion  cannot  bind  another  for  the  payment  of  a  debt.  Ham 
ilton,  having  disposed  of  Jefferson's  attempts,  under  the 
signature  of  Aristides,  to  wriggle  out  of  both  these  accusa 
tions,  discoursed  upon  the  disloyal  fact  that  the  Secretary 
of  State  was  the  declared  opponent  of  every  important 
measure  which  had  been  devised  by  the  Government,  and 
proceeded  to  lash  him  for  his  hypocrisy  in  sitting  daily  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  President  while  privately  slandering 
him ;  of  exercising  all  the  arts  of  an  intriguing  mind,  ripened 
by  a  long  course  of  European  diplomacy,  to  undermine  an 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  389 

Administration  whose  solidity  was  the  only  guaranty  for 
the  continued  prosperity  and  honour  of  the  country.  Hamil 
ton  reminded  the  people,  with  a  pen  too  pointed  to  fail  of 
conviction,  of  the  increase  of  wealth  and  happiness  which 
had  ensued  every  measure  opposed  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  drew  a  warning  picture  of  what  must  result 
were  these  measures  reversed  by  a  party  without  any  con 
victions  beyond  the  determination  to  compass  the  downfall 
of  the  party  in  power.  He  bade  them  choose,  and  passed 
on  to  a  refutation  of  the  several  accusations  hurled  at  the 
Administration,  and  at  himself  in  particular. 

He  wrote  sometimes  with  temperance  and  self-restraint, 
at  others  with  stinging  contempt  and  scorn.  Jefferson  re 
plied  with  elaborate  denials,  solemn  protests  of  disinter 
ested  virtue,  and  counter  accusations.  Hamilton  was  back 
at  him  before  the  print  was  dry,  and  the  battle  raged  with 
such  unseemly  violence,  that  Washington  wrote  an  indig 
nant  letter  to  each,  demanding  that  they  put  aside  their 
personal  rancours  and  act  together  for  the  common  good 
of  the  country.  The  replies  of  the  two  men  were  charac 
teristic.  Hamilton  wrote  a  frank  and  manly  letter,  barely 
alluding  to  Jefferson,  and  asserting  that  honour  and  policy 
exacted  his  charges  and  refutations.  He  would  make  no 
promise  to  discontinue  his  papers,  for  he  had  no  intention 
of  laying  down  his  pen  until  Jefferson  was  routed  from  the 
controversial  field,  and  the  public  satisfied  of  the  truth. 
Jefferson's  letter  was  pious  and  sad.  It  breathed  a  fervent 
disinterestedness,  and  provided  as  many  poisoned  arrows 
for  his  rival  as  its  ample  space  permitted.  It  was  a  guinea 
beaten  out  into  an  acre  of  gold  leaf  and  steeped  in  corro 
sive  sublimate. 

But  during  that  summer  of  1792  Hamilton  had  little 
time  for  personal  explosions  except  in  brief.  The  Presi 
dential  elections  approached,  and  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  was  given  to  party  management  and  counsel.  Wash 
ington's  renomination  and  election  were  assured.  The  only 
obstacle  encountered  had  been  Washington  himself,  but 
his  yearning  for  peace  had  again  retired  before  duty.  The 
parties  were  arrayed  in  a  desperate  struggle  for  the  Vice- 


390  THE   CONQUEROR 

Presidency,  the  issue  to  determine  the  vindication  or  the 
condemnation  of  the  measures  of  Hamilton.  Adams  him 
self  was  unpopular  in  the  anti-Federalist  ranks,  on  account 
of  his  aristocratic  tastes  and  his  opposition  to  the  French 
Revolution ;  but  the  time  was  propitious  for  a  tremendous 
trial  of  strength  with  the  omnipotent  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  any  candidate  of  his  would  have  been 
opposed  as  bitterly. 

Jefferson  and  Burr  were  each  suggested  for  the  office, 
but  Hamilton  brought  down  his  heavy  hand  on  both  of 
them  promptly,  and  the  fight  settled  into  a  bitter  struggle 
between  Adams  and  Clinton.  The  latter's  strength  in  the 
State  of  New  York  was  still  very  great,  and  he  was  as 
hardy  a  fighter  as  ever.  But  his  political  past  was  studded 
with  vulnerable  points,  and  the  Federalists  spared  him  not. 

It  is  impossible,  whatever  one's  predilections,  not  to 
admire  Clinton  for  his  superb  fighting  qualities.  He  was 
indomitable,  and  in  ability  and  resourcefulness  second  only 
to  Hamilton  himself,  in  party  management  far  superior; 
for  he  had  greater  patience,  a  tenderer  and  more  intimate 
concern  for  his  meaner  followers,  and  less  trust  in  his  own 
unaided  efforts  and  the  right  of  his  cause.'  Hamilton  by 
no  means  was  blind  to  the  pettier  side  of  human  nature, 
but  he  despised  it ;  instead  of  truckling  and  manipulat 
ing,  he  would  scatter  it  before  him  or  grind  it  to  pulp. 
There  is  no  possible  doubt  that  if  Hamilton  had  happened 
into  a  country  at  war  with  itself,  but  with  strong  monarchi 
cal  proclivities,  he  would  have  seized  the  crown  and  made 
one  of  the  wisest  and  kindest  of  autocrats.  His  lines  cast 
in  a  land  alight  from  end  to  end  with  republican  fires,  he 
accepted  the  situation  with  his  inherent  philosophy,  burned 
with  a  patriotism  as  steady  as  Washington's  own,  but  ruled 
it  in  his  own  way,  forced  upon  it  measures  in  whose  wisdom 
he  implicitly  believed,  and  which,  in  every  instance,  time 
has  vindicated.  But  his  instinct  was  that  of  the  amiable 
despot,  and  he  had  no  conciliation  in  him. 

His  opponents  saw  only  the  despot,  for  time  had  not 
given  them  range  of  vision.  Therefore,  Jefferson,  Madison, 
Monroe,  Clinton,  and  his  other  formidable  enemies  have  a 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  391 

large  measure  of  excuse  for  their  conduct,  especially  as  they 
were  seldom  unstung  by  mortifying  defeat.  It  is  doubt 
ful  if  the  first  three,  at  least,  ever  admitted  to  themselves  or 
each  other  that  they  hated  Hamilton,  and  were  determined 
for  purely  personal  reasons  to  pull  him  down.  Every  man 
knows  how  easy  it  is  to  persuade  himself  that  he  is  entirely 
in  the  right,  his  opponent,  or  even  he  who  differs  from 
him,  entirely  in  the  wrong.  The  Virginian  trio  had  by 
this,  at  all  events,  talked  themselves  into  the  belief  that 
Hamilton  was  a  menace  to  the  permanence  of  the  Union, 
and  that  it  was  their  pious  duty  to  relegate  him  to  the 
shades  of  private  life.  That  in  public  life  he  would  in 
fallibly  interfere  with  their  contemplated  twenty-four  years 
Chair  Trust  may  have  been  by  the  way.  They  were  all 
men  with  a  consciousness  of  public  benefits  to  their  credit, 
and  some  disinterested  patriotism.  If  their  ignoble  side  is 
constantly  in  evidence  in  their  dealings  with  Hamilton,  it 
by  no  means  follows  that  two,  at  least,  of  our  most  distin 
guished  Presidents — Monroe  was  a  mere  imitationist  — 
had  no  other.  Had  that  been  the  case,  they  would  have 
failed  as  miserably  as  Burr,  despite  their  talents,  for  the 
public  is  not  a  fool.  But  that  their  faults  were  ignoble, 
rather  than  passionate,  their  biographers  have  never  pre 
tended  to  deny.  In  many  instances  no  apology  is  attempted. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  most  exhaustive  research  among 
the  records  of  friends  and  enemies  has  failed  to  bring  to 
light  any  evidence  of  mean  and  contemptible  traits  in 
Hamilton.  No  one  will  deny  his  faults,  his  mistakes  ;  but 
they  were  the  mistakes  and  faults  of  passion  in  every 
instance ;  of  a  great  nature,  capable  of  the  extremest  vio 
lence,  of  the  deadliest  hate  and  maddest  blows,  but  fighting 
always  in  the  open ;  in  great  crises  unhesitatingly  sacrific 
ing  his  personal  desires  or  hatreds  to  the  public  good. 
Even  his  detractors  —  those  who  count  in  letters  —  have 
admitted  that  his  nature  and  his  methods  were  too  high 
handed  for  grovelling  and  deceit,  that  the  mettle  of  his 
courage  was  unsurpassed.  Jefferson  and  Madison  had 
the  spirit  of  the  mongrel  in  comparison ;  Monroe  was 
a  fighter,  but  cowardly  and  spiteful.  In  point  of  mettle 


392  THE   CONQUEROR 

alone,  Adams  and  Clinton  were  Hamilton's  most  worthy 
opponents. 

Burr  had  not  shown  his  hand  as  yet.  He  was  at  war 
with  Clinton  himself,  and  an  active  and  coruscating  mem 
ber  of  the  Senate.  But  Hamilton,  by  this,  knew  him  thor 
oughly.  He  read  his  lack  of  oublic  spirit  in  every  successive 
act  of  his  life,  recognized  an  ambition  which  would  not 
hesitate  to  sacrifice  his  best  friend  and  the  country  he  was 
using,  and  a  subtlety  and  cunning  which  would,  with  his 
lack  of  principle  and  property,  make  him  the  most  danger 
ous  man  in  America  should  he  contrive  to  grasp  the  reins 
of  power.  Therefore  he  checkmated  his  every  move,  care 
less  of  whether  he  made  another  powerful  enemy  or  not. 

Hamilton  attempted  no  delusions  with  himself.  He 
knew  that  he  hated  Jefferson  with  a  violence  which  threat 
ened  at  times  to  submerge  all  the  good  in  him,  horrified 
him  when  he  sat  down  and  looked  into  himself.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  knew  himself  to  be  justified  in  thwarting 
and  humiliating  him,  for  the  present  policy  of  the  country 
must  be  preserved  at  any  cost.  But  he  was  too  clear  and 
practised  an  analyst  to  fail  to  separate  his  public  from  his 
personal  rancour.  He  would  drive  Jefferson  from  public 
office  for  the  public  good,  but  he  would  experience  the 
keenest  personal  pleasure  in  so  doing.  Such  was  Hamil 
ton.  Could  a  genius  like  his  be  allied  in  one  ego  with  a 
character  like  Washington's,  we  should  have  a  being  for 
which  the  world  has  never  dared  to  hope  in  its  most  Bibli 
cal  moments.  But  genius  must  ever  be  imperfect.  Life 
is  not  long  enough  nor  slow  enough  for  both  brain  and 
character  to  grow  side  by  side  to  superhuman  proportions. 

XXIX 

The  following  political  year  was  a  lively  one  for  Hamilton, 
perhaps  the  liveliest  of  his  career.  As  it  approached,  those 
interested  in  public  affairs  had  many  subjects  for  constant 
and  excited  discussion  :  the  possible  Vice-President,  whose 
election  was  to  determine  the  future  status  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  and  cement  or  weaken  the  centralized  powers  of 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  393 

the  Administration ;  the  battle  in  the  two  Gazettes,  with 
the  laurels  to  Hamilton,  beyond  all  controversy,  and  humilia 
tion  for  Jefferson  and  Madison ;  the  growing  strength  of 
the  "  Republican  "  party  under  Madison's  open  and  Jeffer 
son's  literary  leadership ;  the  probable  policy  of  the  Ad 
ministration  toward  the  French  Revolution,  with  Jefferson 
hot  with  rank  Democracy,  and  Hamilton  hotter  with  con 
tempt  for  the  ferocity  of  the  Revolutionists  ;  the  next  move 
of  the  Virginians  did  Hamilton  win  the  Vice-Presidency  for 
the  Administration  party ;  and  the  various  policies  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  their  results.  At  coffee 
houses,  at  public  and  private  receptions,  and  in  Mrs.  Croix's 
drawing-room,  hardly  another  subject  was  broached. 

"  A  fool  could  understand  politics  in  these  days,"  said 
Betsey,  one  evening  in  December,  with  a  sigh.  "  Not  a 
word  does  one  hear  of  clothes,  gossip,  husbands,  or  babies. 
Mrs.  Washington  told  me  the  day  after  she  returned  that 
she  had  deliberately  thought  of  nothing  but  butter  and 
patchwork  during  the  entire  recess,  that  her  poor  brain 
might  be  able  to  stand  the  strain  of  the  winter.  Shall 
you  have  to  work  harder  than  ever  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  replied  Hamilton,  and  at  that  moment 
he  did  not.  He  was  correcting  a  French  exercise  of  his 
son's,  and  feeling  domestic  and  happy.  Jefferson  and  he 
had  made  no  pretence  at  formal  amiability  this  season ; 
they  did  not  speak  at  all,  but  communicated  on  paper  when 
the  business  of  their  respective  departments  required  an 
interchange  of  opinion.  He  had  vanquished  his  enemy  in 
print,  made  him  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  read  the 
Gazettes.  Moreover,  Washington,  disturbed  during  the  sum 
mer  by  the  constant  nagging  of  Jefferson  and  his  agents, 
respecting  the  "  monarchical  schemes  "  and  "  corrupt  prac 
tices  "  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  had  formulated 
the  accusations  and  sent  them  to  Hamilton  for  refutation. 
The  vindication,  written  without  passion,  as  cold,  clear, 
consistent,  and  logical,  as  if  dealing  with  an  abstract  propo 
sition,  had  convinced,  and  finally,  all  to  whom  it  was  shown  ; 
with  the  exception  of  Jefferson,  who  had  no  intention  of 
being  convinced. 


394  THE   CONQUEROR 

Hamilton  was  conscious  that  there  was  no  vulnerable 
point  in  his  public  armour.  Of  his  private  he  was  not  so 
sure;  Reynolds  was  in  jail,  for  attempting,  in  company 
with  one  Clingman,  to  suborn  a  witness  to  commit  perjury, 
and  had  appealed  to  him  for  aid.  He  had  ignored  him, 
determined  to  submit  to  no  further  blackmail,  be  the  con 
sequences  what  they  might.  But  he  was  the  last  man  to 
anticipate  trouble,  and  on  the  whole  he  was  in  the  best  of 
humours  as  the  Christmas  holidays  approached,  with  his 
boys  home  from  their  school  on  Staten  Island,  his  little 
girl  growing  lovelier  and  more  accomplished,  and  his  wife 
always  charming  and  pretty ;  in  their  rare  hours  of  unin 
terrupted  companionship,  piquant  and  diverting.  He  had 
gone  out  with  her  constantly  since  Congress  assembled, 
and  had  enjoyed  the  recreations  of  society  after  his  summer 
of  hard  work  and  angry  passions.  Everywhere  he  had  a 
triumphal  progress  ;  men  and  women  jostled  each  other 
about  him,  eager  for  a  word,  a  smile,  making  him  talk  at 
length,  whether  he  would  or  not.  The  confidence  in  him  was 
stronger  than  ever,  but  his  enemies  were  the  most  powerful, 
collectively  and  individually,  that  had  ever  arrayed  against 
a  public  man :  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe,  with  the 
South  behind  them ;  the  Livingstons  and  the  Clinton  fac 
tion  in  New  York ;  Burr,  with  his  smiling  subterranean 
industry ;  the  growing  menace  of  the  Republican  party. 
Pamphlets  were  circulating  in  the  States  warning  voters 
against  all  who  supported  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
It  was  one  man  against  odds  of  appalling  strength  and 
resource ;  for  by  common  consent  both  of  friends  and 
enemies  Hamilton  was  the  Federal  party.  Did  he  fall,  it 
must  go ;  all  blows  were  aimed  at  him  alone.  Could  any 
one  man  stand  for  ever  an  impregnable  fortress  before  such 
a  battery  ?  Many  vowed  that  he  would,  for  "  he  was  more 
than  human,"  but  others,  as  firm  in  their  admiration, 
shrugged  their  shoulders.  The  enemy  were  infuriated  at 
the  loss  of  the  Vice-Presidency,  for  again  Hamilton  had 
been  vindicated  and  Adams  reflected.  What  would  be 
their  next  move  ? 

Betsey  knew  that  her  husband  had  enemies,  but  the  fact 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  395 

gave  her  little  concern ;  she  believed  Hamilton  to  be  a 
match  for  the  allied  forces  of  darkness.  She  noticed  when 
his  hair  was  unpowdered  that  it  was  turning  gray  and  had 
quite  lost  its  boyish  brightness  ;  here  and  there  work  and 
care  had  drawn  a  line.  But  he  was  handsomer,  if  anything, 
and  of  the  scars  on  his  spirit  she  knew  nothing.  In  the 
peace  and  pleasant  distractions  of  his  home  his  mercurial 
spirits  leaped  high  above  his  anxieties  and  enmities,  and  he 
was  as  gay  and  happy,  as  interested  in  the  manifold  small 
interests  of  his  family,  as  were  he  a  private  man  of  fortune, 
without  an  ambition,  an  enemy,  or  a  care.  When  most 
absorbed  or  irritated  he  never  victimized  his  household  by 
moods  or  tempers,  not  only  because  they  were  at  his  mercy, 
but  because  his  nature  spontaneously  gave  as  it  received ; 
his  friends  had  his  best  always,  his  enemies  the  very  worst 
of  which  his  intense  passionate  nature  was  capable.  Nat 
urally  his  family  adored  him  and  studied  his  happiness. 

Betsey  continued  her  somewhat  rambling  remarks.  "  The 
only  variety  is  the  French  Revolution." 

"  By  the  way,  Washington  has  had  a  distressing  letter 
from  Madame  Lafayette.  She  begs  him  to  receive  her 
boy  —  George  Washington —  and  keep  him  until  the  trouble 
is  over.  The  Chief  fears  that  in  the  present  temper  of  the 
public  his  reception  of  Lafayette's  son  would  be  given  an 
embarrassing  significance,  and  yet  it  is  impossible  to  refuse 
such  a  request,  —  with  Lafayette  in  an  Austrian  dungeon, 
his  wife  in  daily  danger  of  prison  or  guillotine,  and  this  boy, 
his  only  son,  with  no  one  but  a  tutor  to  protect  him.  I 
offered  at  once  to  receive  the  child  into  my  family  —  sub 
ject,  of  course,  to  your  approval.  Should  you  object?  It 
would  add  to  your  cares- — •" 

"  I  have  no  cares,  sir.  I  shall  be  delighted  ;  and  he  can 
talk  French  with  the  children." 

"  I  shall  send  him  to  Staten  Island  with  Philip  and  Alex. 
Washington  will  make  him  a  liberal  allowance  for  school 
and  clothing.  I  confess  I  am  anxious  to  receive  him,  more 
than  anxious  to  show  that  my  old  friendship  is  undimin- 
ished.  I  fear  to  open  every  packet  from  Europe,  lest  I 
hear  of  Lafayette's  death.  Fortunately,  Morris  was  able 


396  THE   CONQUEROR 

to  render  some  assistance  to  Madame  Lafayette.  Morris 
is  a  source  of  sufficient  worry  himself,  for  he  is  much  too 
independent  and  bold  for  a  foreign  envoy  in  the  thick  of 
mob  rule,  mad  with  blood." 

"  I  hate  to  think  of  old  friends  in  trouble,"  said  Betsey, 
removing  a  tear.  "  Poor  Kitty  Duer !  I  had  another 
letter  from  her  to-day.  It  is  pitiful  to  think  of  her  and  the 
poor  little  children,  with  nothing  but  what  Lady  Sterling, 
who  has  so  little,  and  Lady  Mary  can  give  them.  Is  there 
no  way  of  getting  Colonel  Duer  out  of  Debtor's  prison  ? " 

"  I've  moved  heaven  and  earth,  but  certain  of  his  credi 
tors  are  inexorable.  Still,  I  hope  to  have  him  out  and  on 
his  feet  before  long.  You  are  not  to  worry  about  other 
people  this  evening,  for  I  am  particularly  happy.  Philip 
is  really  remarkable,  and  I  believe  that  Angelica  is  going 
to  turn  out  a  musical  genius.  What  a  delight  it  is  to  have 
one  person  in  the  world  to  whom  one  can  brag  about  one's 
offspring  without  apology." 

"  Why,  of  course  they  are  the  most  remarkable  children 
in  the  world  —  all  five  of  them,"  said  Betsey,  placidly. 

Edward  Stevens  came  in  and  threw  himself  on  the  sofa. 
"  What  a  relief  to  come  into  this  scene  of  domestic  tran 
quillity,  after  the  row  outside  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  All  the 
world  is  in  the  streets;  that  is  to  say,  all  the  daft  American 
world  that  sympathizes  with  that  bloody  horror  in  France. 
The  news  that  the  allied  armies  have  been  beaten  and  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick  was  in  full  retreat  when  the  packets 
sailed,  has  apparently  driven  them  frantic  with  joy.  They 
are  yelling  '  (^a  ira,'  bonfires  are  flaring  everywhere,  and 
bells  ringing.  All  of  the  men  are  drunk,  and  some  of  the 
women.  And  yet  the  statesman  who  must  grapple  with 
this  portentous  problem  is  gossiping  with  his  wife,  and 
looking  as  if  he  had  not  a  care  in  the  world.  Thank 
Heaven!" 

"  I  can  do  nothing  to-night,"  said  Hamilton,  smiling.  "  I 
have  had  too  much  experience  as  a  practical  philosopher 
not  to  be  happy  while  I  can." 

"  You  have  the  gift  of  eternal  youth.  What  shall  you 
do  in  this  French  matter,  Alexander  the  Great  ?  All  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  397 

world  is  waiting  to  know.  I  should  worry  about  you  if  I 
had  time  in  this  reeking  town,  where  it  is  a  wonder  any 
man  has  health  in  him.  Oh,  for  the  cane-fields  of  St. 
Croix  !  But  tell  me,  what  is  the  policy  to  be — strict  neu 
trality  ?  Of  course  the  President  will  agree  with  you ; 
but  fancy  Jefferson,  on  his  other  side,  burning  with  approval 
for  the  very  excesses  of  the  Revolution,  since  they  typify 
democracy  exultant.  And  of  course  he  is  burrowing  in 
the  dark  to  increase  his  Republican  party  and  inspire  it 
with  his  fanatical  enthusiasm  for  those  inhuman  wretches 
in  France.  I  believe  he  would  plunge  us  into  a  war  to 
morrow." 

"  No,  he  is  an  unwarlike  creature.  He  would  like  to 
trim,  keep  this  country  from  being  actually  bespattered 
with  blood,  but  coax  the  Administration  to  give  the  Revo 
lutionists  money  and  moral  support.  He  will  do  nothing 
of  the  sort,  however.  The  policy  of  this  remote  country 
is  absolute,  uncompromising,  neutrality.  Let  Europe  keep 
her  hands  off  this  continent,  and  we  will  let  her  have 
her  own  way  across  the  water.  The  United  States  is  the 
nucleus  of  a  great  nation  that  will  spread  indefinitely,  and 
any  further  Europeanizing  of  our  continent  would  be  a 
menace  which  we  can  best  avoid  by  observing  from  the 
beginning  a  strictly  defensive  policy.  To  weaken  it  by  an 
aggressive  inroad  into  European  politics  would  be  the 
folly  of  schoolboys  not  fit  to  conduct  a  nation.  We  must 
have  the  Floridas  and  Louisiana  as  soon  as  possible.  I 
have  been  urging  the  matter  upon  Washington's  attention 
for  three  years.  Spain  is  a  constant  source  of  annoyance, 
and  the  sooner  we  get  her  off  the  continent  the  better  — 
and  before  Great  Britain  sends  her.  We  need  the  Missis 
sippi  for  navigation  and  must  possess  the  territories  that 
are  the  key  to  it.  How  idiotic,  therefore,  to  antagonize 
any  old-world  power!  " 

"  You  are  long-headed  !  "  exclaimed  Stevens.  "  Good 
heavens  !  Listen  to  that !  The  very  lungs  of  Philadelphia 
are  bellowing.  Our  people  must  be  mad  to  see  in  this 
hideous  French  Revolution  any  resemblance  to  their  own 
dignified  and  orderly  struggle  for  freedom." 


398  THE   CONQUEROR 

"It  is  so  easy  to  drive  men  mad,"  said  Hamilton,  con 
temptuously.  "  Particularly  when  they  are  in  constant 
and  bitter  opposition  to  the  party  in  power,  and  possess  a 
leader  as  subtle  and  venomous  as  Thomas  Jefferson  — 
'  Thomas,'  as  he  signed  a  letter  to  Washington  the  other 
day.  You  may  imagine  the  disgust  of  the  Chief." 

"Not  another  word  of  politics  this  night!"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Hamilton.  "I  have  not  uttered  a  word  for  just 
twenty-five  minutes.  Alexander,  go  and  brew  a  beaker  of 
negus." 

XXX 

The  next  morning  Hamilton  was  sitting  in  his  office 
when  the  cards  of  James  Monroe,  F.  A.  Muhlenberg,  and 
A.  Venable  were  brought  in. 

"What  on  earth  can  they  want  ?  "  he  thought.  "  Mon 
roe  ?  We  have  not  bowed  for  a  year.  Two  days  ago  he 
turned  into  a  muddy  lane  and  splashed  himself  to  his  waist, 
that  he  might  avoid  meeting  me." 

His  first  impulse  was  to  excuse  himself,  on  the  plea  of 
the  pressing  nature  of  his  work ;  but  curiosity  triumphed, 
and  he  told  his  page  to  admit  the  men. 

Muhlenberg  was  again  Speaker  of  the  House ;  Venable 
was  a  Representative  from  Virginia.  Hamilton  was  not 
friendly  with  either,  but  nodded  when  they  passed  him. 
He  greeted  them  amiably  as  they  entered  to-day,  and  ex 
changed  a  frigid  bow  with  Monroe.  The  Senator  from 
Virginia  took  a  chair  in  the  rear  of  the  others,  stretched  his 
long  legs  in  front  of  him,  and  folded  his  arms  defiantly. 
He  looked  not  unlike  a  greyhound,  his  preference  for  drab 
clothing  enhancing  the  general  effect  of  a  pointed  and 
narrow  leanness. 

There  was  a  moment  of  extreme  awkwardness.  Muhlen 
berg  and  Venable  hitched  their  chairs  about.  Monroe 
grinned  spasmodically,  and  rubbed  his  nose  with  his  upper 
lip. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  said  Hamilton,  rapping  his  fingers 
on  the  table.  "  What  can  I  do  for  you  ? "  He  scented 
gun-powder  at  once. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  399 

"  I  am  to  be  the  spokesman  in  this  delicate  matter,  I 
believe,"  said  Muhlenberg,  who  looked  red  and  miserable, 
"  and  I  will,  with  your  permission,  proceed  to  my  unpleas 
ant  task  with  as  little  delay  as  possible." 

"  Pray  do,"  replied  Hamilton.  "  The  daily  assaults  of 
my  enemies  for  several  years  have  endowed  me  with  a  for 
titude  which  doubtless  will  carry  me  through  this  interview 
in  a  creditable  manner." 

"  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  I  do  not  come  as  an  enemy,  but 
as  a  friend.  It  is  owing  to  my  appeal  that  the  matter  was 
not  laid  directly  before  the  President." 

"  The  President  ?  "  Hamilton  half  rose,  then  seated  him 
self  again.  His  eyes  were  glittering  dangerously.  Muh 
lenberg  blundered  on,  his  own  gaze  roving.  The  Federal 
term  of  endearment  for  Hamilton,  "The  Little  Lion," 
clanged  suddenly  in  his  mind,  a  warning  bell. 

"  I  regret  to  say  that  we  have  discovered  an  improper 
connection  between  yourself  and  one  Reynolds."  He  pro 
duced  a  bundle  of  letters  and  handed  them  to  Hamilton. 
"  These  are  not  in  your  handwriting,  sir,  but  I  am  informed 
that  you  wrote  them." 

Hamilton  glanced  at  them  hastily,  and  the  angry  blood 
raced  through  his  arteries. 

"These  letters  were  written  by  me,"  he  said.  "I  dis 
guised  my  handwriting  for  purposes  of  my  own.  What  is 
the  meaning  of  this  unwarrantable  intrusion  into  a  man's 
private  affairs  ?  Explain  yourself  at  once." 

"  That  is  what  we  have  come  for,  sir.  Unfortunately  we 
cannot  regard  it  as  a  private  affair,  but  one  which  concerns 
the  whole  nation." 

"  The  whole  nation  !  "  thundered  Hamilton.  "  What  has 
the  nation  to  do  with  an  affair  of  this  sort  ?  Why  cannot 
you  tell  the  truth  and  say  that  you  gloat  in  having  dis 
covered  this  wretched  affair,  —  a  common  enough  episode 
in  the  lives  of  all  of  you,  —  in  having  another  tid-bit  for 
Freneau?  Why  did  you  not  take  it  to  him  at  once?  What 
do  you  mean  by  coming  here  personally  to  take  me  to 
task  ? " 

"  I    think    there  is    some    misapprehension,    sir,"    said 


400  THE   CONQUEROR 

Muhlenberg.  "  It  would  be  quite  impossible  for  any 
one  present  to  have  misconducted  himself  in  the  manner 
in  which  the  holder  of  those  letters,  Mr.  Reynolds,  accuses 
you  of  having  done.  And  surely  the  whole  country  is 
intimately  concerned  in  the  honesty  —  or  the  dishonesty 

—  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury." 

The  words  were  out,  and  Muhlenberg  sat  with  his  mouth 
open  for  a  moment,  as  if  to  reinhale  the  air  which  was 
escaping  too  quickly  for  calm  speech.  Then  he  set  his 
shoulders  and  braced  himself  to  meet  the  Secretary's  eyes. 
Hamilton  was  staring  at  him,  with  no  trace  of  passion  in 
his  face.  His  eyes  looked  like  steel ;  his  whole  face  had 
hardened  into  a  mask.  He  had  realized  in  a  flash  that  he 
was  in  the  meshes  of  a  plot,  and  forced  the  heat  from  his 
brain.  "  Explain,"  he  said.  "  I  am  listening." 

"  As  you  are  aware,  sir,  this  James  Clingman,  who  has 
been  arrested  with  Reynolds,  was  a  clerk  in  my  employ. 
You  will  also  recall  that  when  he  applied  to  me  to  get 
him  out,  I,  in  company  with  Colonel  Burr,  waited  on  you 
and  asked  your  assistance.  You  said  that  you  would  do 
all  that  was  consistent,  but  we  did  not  hear  from  you 
further.  Clingman  refunded  the  money,  or  certificates, 
which  they  had  improperly  obtained  from  the  Treasury, 
the  action  was  withdrawn,  and  he  was  discharged  to-day. 
While  the  matter  was  pending  I  had  several  conversa 
tions  with  Clingman,  and  he  frequently  dropped  hints 
to  the  effect  that  Reynolds  had  it  in  his  power  materi 
ally  to  injure  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  as  he  knew 
of  several  very  improper  transactions  of  his.  At  first  I 
paid  no  attention  to  these  hints,  but  when  he  went  so  far 
as  to  assert  that  Reynolds  had  it  in  his  power  to  hang 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  that  the  latter  was  deeply 
concerned  in  speculation  with  Duer,  and  had  frequently 
advanced  him  —  Reynolds,  I  mean  —  money  with  which  to 
speculate,  then  I  conceived  it  my  duty  to  take  some  sort 
of  action,  and  yesterday  communicated  with  Mr.  Monroe 
and  Mr.  Venable.  They  went  at  once  to  call  on  Reynolds 

—  whom  I  privately  believe  to  be  a  rascal,  sir  —  and  he  as 
serted  that  he  was  kept  in  prison  by  your  connivance,  as 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  401 

you  feared  him ;  and  promised  to  put  us  in  possession  of 
the  entire  facts  this  morning.  When  we  returned  at  the 
hour  appointed,  he  had  absconded,  having  received  his  dis 
charge.  We  then  went  to  his  house  and  saw  his  wife,  who 
asserted,  after  some  circumlocution,  that  you  had  been 
concerned  in  speculations  with  her  husband,  that  at  your 
request  she  had  burnt  most  of  the  letters  you  had  written 
to  herself  and  her  husband,  and  that  all  were  in  a  dis 
guised  hand  —  like  these  few  which  she  had  preserved. 
You  will  admit  that  it  is  a  very  serious  charge,  sir,  and 
that  we  should  have  been  justified  in  going  directly  to  the 
President.  But  we  thought  that  in  case  there  might  be 
an  explanation  — 

"  Oh,  there  is  an  explanation,"  said  Hamilton,  with  a 
sneer.  "  You  shall  have  it  at  my  pleasure.  I  see  that 
these  notes  implicate  me  to  the  extent  of  eleven  hundred 
dollars.  Strange,  that  a  rapacious  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  handling  millions,  and  speculating  wildly  with  a  friend 
of  large  resources,  should  have  descended  to  such  small 
play  as  this.  More  especially  strange  that  he  should  have 
deliberately  placed  himself  in  the  power  of  such  a  rascal 
as  this  Reynolds  —  who  seems  to  impress  every  one  he 
meets  with  his  blackguardism  —  and  communicated  with 
him  freely  on  paper ;  you  will  have  observed  that  I 
acknowledged  these  notes  without  hesitation.  What  a 
clumsy  knave  you  must  think  me.  I  resent  the  imputa 
tion.  Perhaps  you  have  noticed  that  in  one  of  these  notes 
I  state  that  on  my  honour  I  cannot  accommodate  him  with 
the  three  hundred  dollars  he  demands,  because  it  is  quite 
out  of  my  power  to  furnish  it.  Odd,  that  a  thieving  Secre 
tary,  engaged  in  riotous  speculation,  could  not  lay  his 
hand  on  three  hundred  dollars,  especially  if  it  were  neces 
sary  to  close  this  rascal's  mouth.  I  doubt,  gentlemen,  if 
you  will  be  able  to  convince  the  country  that  I  am  a  fooi. 
Nevertheless,  I  recognize  that  this  accusation  must  be  met 
by  controverting  proof ;  and  if  you  will  do  me  the  honour 
to  call  at  my  house  to-night  at  nine  o'clock,  I  shall,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  furnish  these 
proofs." 


403  THE   CONQUEROR 

He  rose,  and  the  others  pushed  back  their  chairs  and 
departed  hastily.  Muhlenberg's  red  face  wore  a  look  of 
relief,  but  Monroe  scowled.  Neither  had  failed  to  be  im 
pressed  by  the  Secretary's  manner,  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  ashamed  of  his  part  in  the  business,  would 
gladly  have  listened  to  an  immediate  vindication. 

Hamilton  sat  motionless  for  some  moments,  the  blood 
returning  to  his  face,  for  he  was  seething  with  fury  and 
disgust. 

"  The  hounds !  "  he  said  aloud,  then  again  and  again. 
He  was  alone,  and  he  never  had  conquered  his  youthful 
habit  of  muttering  to  himself.  "  I  can  see  Monroe  leap 
ing,  not  walking,  to  the  jail,  the  moment  he  learned  of  a 
chance  to  incriminate  me.  The  heels  at  the  end  of  those 
long  legs  must  have  beaten  the  powder  from  his  queue. 
And  this  is  what  a  man  is  to  expect  so  long  as  he  remains 
in  public  life  —  if  he  succeeds.  He  resigns  a  large  income, 
reduces  his  family  almost  to  poverty,  works  himself  half 
to  death,  rescues  the  country  from  contempt,  launches  it 
upon  the  sea  of  prosperity ;  and  his  public  rewards  are 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  persecutions  of  his 
enemies.  I  have  been  on  the  defensive  from  the  moment 
I  entered  public  life.  Scarcely  a  week  but  I  have  been 
obliged  to  parry  some  poisoned  arrow  or  pluck  it  out  and 
cauterize.  The  dreams  of  my  youth !  They  never  soared 
so  high  as  my  present  attainment,  but  neither  did  they  in 
clude  this  constant  struggle  with  the  vilest  manifestations 
of  which  the  human  nature  is  capable."  He  brought  his 
fist  down  on  the  table.  "  I  am  a  match  for  all  of  them," 
he  exclaimed.  "  But  their  arrows  rankle,  for  I  am  human. 
They  have  poisoned  every  hour  of  victory." 

He  caught  up  his  hat  and  went  out  into  the  air.  The 
solace  of  Mrs.  Croix  in  his  blacker  moods  occurred  to  him ; 
and  he  walked  down  Chestnut  Street  as  rapidly  as  he  could, 
in  the  crowd,  lifting  his  hat  now  and  again  to  cool  his 
head  in  the  frosty  air.  It  was  a  brilliant  winter's  day  ; 
drifts  of  snow  hid  the  dead  animals  and  the  garbage  in  the 
streets ;  and  all  the  world  was  out  for  Christmas  shopping. 
As  it  was  one  of  the  seasons  for  display,  everybody  was 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  403 

in  his  best.  The  women  wore  bright-coloured  taffetas  or 
velvets,  over  hoops  flattened  before  and  behind,  musk- 
melon  bonnets  or  towering  hats.  They  whisked  their 
gowns  about,  that  their  satin  petticoats  be  not  overlooked. 
The  men  wore  the  cocked  hat,  heavily  laced,  and  a 
long  coat,  usually  of  light-coloured  cloth,  with  a  dimin 
utive  cape,  the  silver  buttons  engraved  with  initials  or 
crest.  Their  small  clothes  were  very  short,  but  heavy 
striped  stockings  protected  their  legs ;  on  their  feet  were 
pointed  shoes,  with  immense  silver  buckles.  Hamilton 
was  dressed  with  his  usual  exquisite  care,  his  cuffs  care 
fully  leaded.  But  his  appearance  interested  him  little 
to-day.  For  the  moment,  however,  he  forgot  his  private 
annoyance  in  the  portent  on  every  side  of  him.  Few  of 
the  seekers  after  gifts  had  entered  the  shops.  They 
blocked  the  pavements,  even  the  street,  talking  excitedly 
of  the  news  of  the  day  before.  Fully  half  the  throng 
sported  the  tri-coloured  cockade,  the  air  hissed  with  "  Citi 
zen,"  "  Citess,"  or  rang  with  a  volley  of  "  £a  ira !  Ca  ira!" 

Hamilton  set  his  teeth.  "  It  is  the  next  nightmare,"  he 
thought.  "The  Cabinet  is  quiet  at  present  —  Jefferson, 
mortified  and  beaten,  is  coaxing  back  his  courage  for  a 
final  spring.  When  the  time  comes  to  determine  our 
attitude  there  will  be  Hell,  nothing  less."  But  his  nostrils 
quivered.  He  might  rebel  at  poisoned  arrows,  but  he 
revelled  in  the  fight  that  involved  the  triumph  of  a 
policy. 

His  mind  was  abstracted,  the  blood  was  still  in  his  brain, 
as  he  entered  Mrs.  Croix's  drawing-room.  For  a  moment 
he  had  a  confused  idea  that  he  had  blundered  into  a  shop. 
The  chairs,  the  sofas,  the  floor,  were  covered  with  gar 
ments  and  stuffs  of  every  hue.  Hats  and  bonnets  were 
perched  on  every  point.  Never  had  he  seen  so  much  gor 
geous  raiment  in  one  space  before.  There  were  brocades, 
taffetas,  satins,  lutestrings,  laces,  feathers,  fans,  underwear 
like  mist.  While  he  was  staring  about  him  in  bewilder 
ment,  Mrs.  Croix  came  running  in  from  her  bedroom. 
Her  hair  was  down  and  tangled,  her  dressing  sacque  half 
off,  her  Cace  flushed,  her  eyes  sparkling.  She  looked  half 


404  THE   CONQUEROR 

wanton,  half  like  a  giddy  girl  darting  about  among  her 
first  trunks. 

"  Hamilton  !  "  she  cried.  "  Hamilton  !  "  She  flew  at 
him  much  as  his  children  did  when  excited.  "  Look ! 
Look!  Look!  Is  this  not  magnificent?  This  is  the 
happiest  day  of  my  life ! " 

"  Indeed  ?     Are  you  about  to  set  up  a  shop  ?  " 

"  A  shop  ?  I  am  about  to  deck  myself  once  more  in  the 
raiment  that  I  love.  Have  I  not  drooped  in  weeds  long 
enough,  sir  ?  I  am  going  to  be  beautiful  again !  I  am 
going  to  wear  all  those  lovely  things  —  all !  all !  And  I 
am  going  to  Lady  Washington's  to-morrow  night.  Mrs. 
Knox  will  take  me.  But  I  vow  I  do  not  care  half  so  much 
for  that  as  for  my  beautiful  things.  They  arrived  by  the 
London  packet  yesterday,  but  have  only  now  been  de 
livered.  I  ordered  them  long  since,  and  hardly  could  con 
trol  my  impatience  till  they  came.  I  am  so  happy !  I  feel 
like  a  bird  that  has  been  plucked  for  years." 

Hamilton  looked  at  her  in  amazement,  and  despair. 
More  than  once  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  frivolous 
side  of  her  nature,  but  that  it  could  spread  and  control 
her  he  never  had  imagined.  Her  intelligence,  her  passions, 
her  inherited  and  accumulated  wisdom,  were  crowded  into 
some  submerged  cell.  There  was  nothing  in  her  at  the 
present  moment  for  him,  and  he  turned  on  his  heel  with 
out  a  word  and  left  the  house.  She  rapped  sharply  on  the 
window  as  he  passed,  but  he  did  not  look  up.  He  was 
filled  with  that  unreasoning  anger  peculiar  to  man  when 
woman  for  once  has  failed  to  respond.  He  consigned  her 
and  her  clothes  to  the  devil,  and  looked  at  his  watch.  It 
was  ten  minutes  to  one.  His  dinner  hour  was  two 
o'clock.  He  would  go  home  to  his  wife,  where  he  should 
have  gone  in  the  first  place.  She  never  had  failed  him, 
or  if  she  had  he  could  not  recall  the  occasion.  Her  little 
dark  face  rose  before  him,  innocent  and  adorable.  He 
could  not  tell  her  of  the  cause  of  his  annoyance,  —  it  sud 
denly  occurred  to  him  that  the  less  of  that  matter  confided 
to  Mrs.  Croix  the  better, — but  then  he  never  worried  her 
with  his  troubles.  He  would  merely  go  and  bask  in  her 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  405 

presence  for  an  hour,  confess  to  a  headache,  and  receive 
her  sweet  ministrations. 

As  he  entered  his  own  house,  and,  relieved  of  his  coat 
and  hat  by  the  waiting  black,  ran  up  the  stair,  he  thought 
he  heard  a  soft  babble  of  voices.  Knowing  that  his  wife 
would,  if  he  desired  it,  dismiss  at  once  any  company  she 
might  have,  he  knocked  confidently  at  her  door  and 
entered.  For  a  moment  he  felt  inclined  to  rub  his  eyes, 
and  wondered  if  he  were  the  victim  of  delirium.  The  bed 
was  covered  with  bandboxes,  the  sofa  with  new  frocks. 
Betsey  was  sitting  before  the  mirror,  trying  on  a  cap,  and 
her  sisters,  Peggy  and  Cornelia,  were  clapping  their  hands. 
Angelica  was  perched  on  the  back  of  a  chair,  her  eyes 
twice  their  natural  size.  Hamilton  attempted  instant  re 
treat,  but  Betsey  saw  his  reflection  in  the  mirror. 

"You?"  she  cried.  "What  a  surprise  and  pleasure. 
Come  here,  sir,  at  once." 

Meanwhile  his  two  sisters-in-law,  whose  expected  visit 
he  had  quite  forgotten,  ran  forward  and  kissed  him  effu 
sively.  With  the  desire  in  his  heart  to  rend  the  Universe 
in  twain  he  went  forward  and  smiled  down  into  his  wife's 
eager  face. 

"  Angelica  has  sent  me  so  many  things  !  "  she  exclaimed. 
Her  face  was  flushed,  her  eyes  sparkling.  She  looked 
sixteen.  "And  this  cap  is  the  most  bewitching  of  all. 
You  came  just  at  the  right  moment ;  it  is  quite  singular. 
Read  —  " 

She  thrust  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Church  into  his  hand,  and 
he  read  where  his  wife  pointed.  "  Someone  who  loves 
you  will  tell  you  if  it  is  becoming  or  not."  And  on  the  fol 
lowing  page.  "  Kiss  my  saucy  Brother  for  me.  I  call  him 
my  Brother  with  an  air  of  pride.  And  tell  him,  //  cst 
r  Jiommc  le  pins  aimable  du  mondc." 

"  It  is  charming,"  said  Hamilton,  pinching  his  wife's 
chin.  "  It  is  like  a  frame.  You  never  looked  half  so 
sweet." 

Betsey  cooed  with  delight.  Hamilton,  having  done  his 
duty,  was  about  to  retire  in  good  order,  when  he  met  his 
little  daughter's  eyes.  They  had  dismissed  the  wonderful 


406  THE   CONQUEROR 

cap  and  were  fixed  on  him  with  an  expression  that  gave 
him  a  sudden  thrill.  It  was  not  the  first  time  he  had  seen 
in  Angelica  so  strong  a  resemblance  to  his  mother  that  he 
half  believed  some  fragment  of  Rachael  Levine  had  come 
back  to  him.  Her  eyes  were  dark,  but  she  had  a  mane  of 
reddish  fair  hair,  and  a  skin  as  white  as  porcelain,  a  long 
sensitive  nose,  and  a  full  mobile  mouth.  She  had  none  of 
his  mother's  vitality  and  dash,  however.  She  was  delicate 
and  rather  shrinking,  and  he  knew  that  Rachael  at  her 
age  must  have  been  a  marvel  of  mental  and  physical 
energy.  It  was  only  occasionally,  when  he  turned  sud 
denly  and  caught  Angelica  staring  at  him,  that  he  experi 
enced  the  odd  sensation  of  meeting  his  mother's  eyes, 
informed,  moreover,  with  an  expression  of  penetrating 
comprehension  —  an  expression  he  recalled  without  effort. 
The  child  idolized  him.  She  sat  outside  his  study  while 
he  wrote,  crawling  in  between  the  legs  of  anyone  who 
opened  the  door,  to  sit  at  his  feet ;  or,  if  he  dismissed  her, 
in  another  part  of  the  room  until  he  left  it.  She  watched 
for  his  daily  returns,  and  usually  greeted  him  from  the 
banister  post.  Amiable,  intelligent,  pretty,  affectionate, 
and  already  putting  forth  the  tender  leaves  of  a  great  gift, 
her  father  thought  her  quite  perfect,  and  they  had  long 
conversations  whenever  he  was  at  leisure  in  his  home. 
She  demanded  a  great  deal  of  petting,  and  he  was  always 
ready  to  humour  her,  the  more  as  she  was  the  only  girl, 
and  the  one  quiet  member  of  his  little  family  —  although 
she  had  been  known  to  use  her  fists  upon  occasion.  Her 
prettiness  and  intelligence  delighted  him,  her  affection 
was  one  of  the  deepest  pleasures  of  his  life,  and  he  was 
thankful  for  the  return  to  him  of  his  mother's  beautiful 
and  singular  features.  To-day  the  resemblance  was  so 
striking  that  he  contracted  his  eyelids.  Angelica  straight 
ened  herself,  gave  a  spring,  and  alighted  on  his  chest. 

"Take  me  downstairs  and  talk  to  me,"  she  commanded. 
"  'Tis  nearly  an  hour  to  dinner." 

Hamilton  swung  her  to  his  shoulder,  and  went  down 
stairs.  On  the  way  he  laughed  out  loud.  The  past  half- 
hour  tossed  itself  into  the  foreground  of  his  mind,  clad  in 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  407 

the  skirts  of  high  comedy.  Tragedy  fled.  The  burden  in 
his  breast  went  with  it.  Far  be  it  from  him  to  cherish  a 
grudge  against  the  sex  that  so  often  reduced  the  trials  of 
public  life  to  insignificance.  Women  were  delicious  irre 
sponsible  beings ;  man  was  an  ingrate  to  take  their  short 
comings  seriously. 

"  Why  do  you  laugh  ? "  asked  his  daughter,  whose  arm 
nearly  strangled  him.  "  You  were  very  angry  when  you 
came  into  mamma's  room." 

"Indeed?"  said  Hamilton,  nettled.  "Was  I  not  smil 
ing  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  but  you  often  smile  when  you  would  like  to 
run  the  carving-knife  into  somebody." 

They  had  reached  the  library.  Hamilton  sat  the  child 
on  the  edge  of  his  table  and  took  a  chair  closely  facing  her. 
"  What  do  you  mean,  you  little  witch  ?  "  he  demanded. 
"I  am  always  happy  when  I  am  at  home." 

"  Almost  always.  Sometimes  you  are  very  angry,  and 
sometimes  you  are  sad.  Why  do  you  pretend?  Why 
don't  you  tell  us  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  Hamilton,  with  some  confusion.     "I  love 
you  all  very  much,  you  see,  and  you  do  make  me  happy  — 
why  should  I  worry  you  ?  " 

"I  should  feel  better  if  you  told  me  —  right  out.  It 
gives  me  a  pain  here." 

She  laid  her  hand  to  her  head,  and  Hamilton  stared  at 
her  in  deepening  perplexity.  Another  child  —  anything 
feminine,  at  least  —  would  have  indicated  her  heart  as  the 
citadel  of  sorrow.  "Why  there?"  he  asked.  "Do  you 
mean  a  pain  ?  " 

"  Yes,  a  pain,  but  not  so  bad  as  when  I  am  in  Albany 
or  Saratoga  and  you  are  here.  Then  I  worry  all  the 
time." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  are  ever  unhappy  ?  " 

"  I  am  unhappy  whenever  you  are,  or  I  am  afraid  that 
you  are.  I  know  that  you  are  very  big  and  the  cleverest 
man  in  the  world,  and  that  I  am  too  little  to  do  you 
any  good,  and  I  don't  know  why  I  worry  when  I  am 
away." 


4o8  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  But,  my  dear  child,  what  in  Heaven's  name  do  you 
mean  ?  Have  you  ever  spoken  to  your  mother  of  this?  " 

Angelica  shook  her  head.  Her  eyes  grew  larger  and 
wiser.  "  No ;  I  should  only  worry  Betsey,  and  she  is 
always  happy.  She  is  not  clever  like  you  and  me." 

Hamilton  rose  abruptly  and  walked  to  the  window. 
When  he  had  composed  his  features  he  returned.  "  You 
must  not  criticise  your  mother  in  that  way,  my  dear.  She 
is  a  very  clever  little  woman,  indeed." 

Angelica  nodded.  "  If  she  were  clever,  you  would  not 
say  '  little.'  Nobody  says  that  you  are  a  very  clever  little 
man.  When  I'm  big,  I'll  not  be  called  little,  either.  I 
love  our  dear  Queen  Bess,  but  I'm  all  yours.  Why  were 
you  so  angry  to-day  ?  " 

"  I  couldn't  possibly  tell  you,"  replied  her  father,  turn 
ing  cold.  "  You  must  not  ask  too  many  questions ;  but 
I  am  very  grateful  for  your  sympathy.  You  are  my  dear 
little  girl,  and  you  make  me  love  you  more  and  more, 
daily." 

"  And  will  you  tell  me  whenever  you  are  not  feeling  like 
what  you  are  making  the  rest  believe  ? " 

"If  it  will  make  you  any  happier,  I  will  whisper  it  into 
your  pink  little  ear.  But  I  think  I  should  be  a  very  bad 
father  to  make  you  unhappy." 

"  I  told  you,  sir,  that  I  am  more  unhappy  when  I  imag 
ine  things.  It  is  just  like  a  knife,"  and  again  she  pointed 
to  her  head. 

Hamilton  turned  pale.  "  You  are  too  young  to  have 
headaches,"  he  said.  "  Perhaps  you  have  been  studying 
too  hard.  I  am  so  ambitious  for  my  children ;  but  the 
boys  have  taken  to  books  as  they  have  to  kites  and  fisti 
cuffs.  I  should  have  remembered  that  girls—  His 
memory  gave  up  the  stories  of  his  mother's  precocity. 
But  this  child,  who  was  so  startlingly  like  the  dead  woman, 
was  far  less  fitted  to  carry  such  burdens.  So  sensitive 
an  intelligence  in  so  frail  a  body  might  suddenly  flame  too 
high  and  fall  to  ashes.  He  resolved  to  place  her  in  classes 
of  other  little  girls  at  once,  and  to  keep  her  in  the  fields  as 
much  as  possible.  None  knew  better  than  he  how  close 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  409 

the  highly  strung  unresting  brain  could  press  to  madness. 
He  had  acquired  a  superhuman  control  over  his.  If  this 
girl's  brain  had  come  out  of  his  own,  it  must  be  closely 
watched.  She  had  not  inherited  his  high  light  spirits,  but 
the  melancholy  which  had  lain  at  the  foundations  of  his 
mother's  nature  ;  she  would  require  the  most  persistent 
guarding.  He  took  her  face  between  his  hands  and  kissed 
it  many  times. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  "we  will  have  our  little  secrets. 
I  will  tell  you  when  I  am  disturbed,  and  you  will  sit  close 
beside  me  with  your  doll  until  I  feel  better.  But  remem 
ber,  I  expect  as  much  confidence  in  return.  You  will 
never  have  a  care  nor  a  terror  nor  an  annoyance  that  you 
will  not  confide  it  to  me  directly." 

She  nodded.  "  I'm  always  telling  you  things  to  myself. 
And  I  won't  cry  any  more  in  the  night,  when  I  think  you 
have  felt  badly  and  could  not  tell  anyone.  It  will  all  go 
away  if  you  talk  to  me  about  it,"  she  added  confidently. 

Hamilton  swung  her  to  his  shoulder  again  and  started 
for  the  dining  room. 

"The  child  is  uncanny,"  he  thought.  "Can  there  be 
anything  in  that  old  theory  that  tormented  and  erring 
souls  come  back  to  make  their  last  expiation  in  children  ? 
That  means  early  death ! "  He  dismissed  the  thought 
promptly. 

XXXI 

After  dinner  he  called  on  Oliver  Wolcott,  the  Comp 
troller,  one  of  his  closest  friends,  and  related  the  scene 
of  the  morning,  adding  the  explanation.  Wolcott  was 
a  Puritan,  and  did  not  approve  of  the  marital  digressions 
of  his  friends.  But  in  this  case  the  offence  was  so  much 
less  than  the  accusation  that  he  listened  with  frequent 
ejaculations  of  content.  He  agreed  at  once  to  call  at 
Hamilton's  house  at  eight  o'clock,  look  over  the  papers, 
and  read  them  aloud  when  the  trio  arrived. 

"  And  may  the  devil  damn  them,"  he  added.  "  It  will 
be  one  of  the  keenest  pleasures  of  my  life  to  confound 


4io  THE   CONQUEROR 

them.  The  unpatriotic  villains !  They  know  that  in  dis 
gracing  you  they  would  discredit  the  United  States,  and 
in  their  hearts  they  know  that  your  measures  are  the  only 
wheels  for  this  country  to  run  on ;  but  to  their  party  spite 
they  would  sacrifice  everything.  I'll  be  there." 

And  when  the  men  called  that  night  at  nine  o'clock,  he 
read  them  the  correspondence  from  beginning  to  end  — 
Reynold's  letters,  and  those  of  the  woman.  More  than 
once  Muhlenberg  begged  him  to  desist,  but  he  was  merci 
less.  When  he  had  finished,  Hamilton  explained  that  he 
had  disguised  his  handwriting  lest  the  man  forge  or  make 
other  use  of  it. 

The  three  rose  as  soon  as  the  ordeal  was  over.  "  It  is 
no  use  for  me  to  attempt  to  express  my  regret  or  my 
humiliation,"  said  Muhlenberg,  "I  shall  be  ashamed  of 
this  as  long  as  I  live." 

"  I  feel  like  an  ass  and  a  spy,"  exclaimed  Venable.  "  I 
heartily  beg  your  pardon,  sir." 

"  Your  mistake  was  justifiable.     Are  you  satisfied  ? " 

"  More  than  satisfied." 

Hamilton  turned  to  Monroe. 

"  I  made  a  mistake,"  said  the  Senator  from  Virginia. 
"  I  beg  your  pardon." 

"  And  I  shall  hear  no  more  of  this  ?  " 

He  received  the  solemn  promise  of  each,  then  let  them 
go.  But  he  locked  the  letters  carefully  in  their  drawer 
again. 

"  Are  you  going  to  keep  those  things  ?  "  asked  Wolcott. 
"  It  must  have  made  you  sick  to  listen  to  them." 

"It  did.  Perhaps  I  shall  keep  them  for  penance,  per 
haps  because  I  do  not  trust  Monroe." 

XXXII 

Hamilton  was  not  long  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  next  tac 
tics  of  his  enemies.  They  made  their  deadliest  assault  soon 
after  Christmas.  Immediately  upon  the  assembling  of  Con 
gress  it  was  suggested  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
be  asked  to  furnish  a  plan  for  reducing  the  public  debt. 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  411 

Madison  arose  and  fired  the  first  gun.  What  Congress 
wanted  was  not  a  plan,  but  a  statement  of  the  national 
finances.  The  Federalists  replied  that  the  information 
would  come  in  due  course,  and  that  the  House  was  in  duty 
bound  to  ask  the  Secretary  to  furnish  a  scheme.  The  Re 
publicans,  led  by  Madison,  protested  that  already  too  much 
power  had  been  invested  in  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
that  it  had  exceeded  constitutional  limits.  Moreover,  he 
overwhelmed  them  with  volumes,  deliberately  calculated  to 
confuse  their  understandings.  One  Giles,  who  did  the  dirty 
work  of  the  party,  announced  that  the  Secretary  was  not 
fit  to  make  plans,  and  added  the  numerous  and  familiar 
denunciations.  But  the  Republicans  were  outvoted,  and 
the  suggestions  were  called  for.  Hamilton  furnished  them 
immediately.  His  plan  to  reduce  the  debt  was  met  by  so 
strenuous  an  opposition  from  the  Republicans  that  it  was 
defeated,  and  by  the  party  which  had  been  most  persistent 
in  their  detestation  of  the  obnoxious  burden.  Rather  than 
add  to  the  laurels  of  Hamilton,  they  would  shoulder  it  with 
equanimity.  But  this  defeat  was  but  an  incident.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  as  the  result  of  a  series  of 
resolutions,  was  bidden  to  lay  before  Congress  an  account 
of  the  moneys  borrowed  at  Antwerp  and  Amsterdam  ;  the 
President  to  furnish  a  statement  of  the  loans  made  by  his 
authority,  their  terms,  what  use  had  been  made  of  them, 
how  large  was  the  balance ;  the  chiefs  of  departments  to 
make  a  return  of  the  persons  employed  and  their  salaries. 
Hamilton,  by  this  time,  was  fully  alive  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  about  to  be  subjected  to  fresh  persecution,  and 
the  agility  of  his  enemies  could  not  keep  pace  with  his. 
He  furnished  the  House  with  an  itemized  list  —  which  it 
took  the  Committee  days  to  plod  through  —  of  his  book 
keepers,  clerks,  porters,  and  charwomen,  and  the  varying 
emoluments  they  had  received  since  the  Department  was 
organized,  three  years  and  a  half  before.  He  further 
informed  them  that  the  net  yield  of  the  foreign  loan  was 
eighteen  millions  six  hundred  and  seventy-eight  thousand 
florins,  that  the  loans  were  six  in  number,  that  three  bore  five 
per  cent  interest,  two  four  and  a  half,  and  one  four  per  cent 


4i2  THE   CONQUEROR 

The  enemy  was  disconcerted  but  not  discouraged.  Five 
fresh  resolutions  were  moved  almost  immediately.  Impar 
tial  historians  have  agreed  that  Jefferson  suggested  these 
shameful  resolutions,  and  that  Madison  drew  them  up. 
Giles  brought  them  forward.  In  a  vociferous  speech  he 
asserted  that  no  man  could  understand  the  Secretary's 
report,  that  his  methods  and  processes  were  clothed  in  a 
suspicious  obscurity.  It  was  his  painful  duty  to  move  the 
adoption  of  the  following  resolutions :  That  copies  of  the 
papers  authorizing  the  foreign  loans  should  be  made ;  that 
the  names  of  the  persons  to  whom  and  by  whom  the  French 
debt  had  been  paid  be  sent  to  Congress  ;  that  a  statement 
of  the  balances  between  the  United  States  and  the  Bank 
be  made ;  that  an  account  of  the  sinking-fund  be  ren 
dered,  how  much  money  had  come  into  it  and  where  from, 
how  much  had  been  used  for  the  purchase  of  the  debt  and 
where  the  rest  was  deposited.  The  fifth  demanded  an  ac 
count  of  the  unexpended  revenue  at  the  close  of  the  pre 
ceding  year.  Giles  charged  that  a  serious  discrepancy 
existed  between  the  report  of  the  Secretary  and  the  books 
of  the  Bank  —  not  less  than  a  million  and  a  half.  It  had 
been  the  purpose  of  Jefferson  and  Madison  to  bring  for 
ward  the  resolutions  with  an  air  of  comparative  innocence. 
But  the  vanity  of  Giles  carried  him  away,  and  his  speech 
informed  Congress,  and  very  shortly  the  country,  that  the 
honesty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  been  im 
peached,  and  that  he  was  called  upon  to  vindicate  himself. 

In  crises  Hamilton  never  lost  his  temper.  The  greater 
the  provocation,  as  the  greater  the  danger,  the  colder  and 
more  impersonal  he  became.  Nor  was  it  in  his  direct 
impatient  nature  to  seek  to  delay  an  evil  moment  any  more 
than  it  was  to  protect  himself  behind  what  the  American 
of  to-day  calls  "bluff."  In  this,  the  severest  trial  of  his 
public  career,  he  did  not  hesitate  a  moment  for  irritation 
or  protest.  He  called  upon  his  Department  to  assist  him, 
and  with  them  he  worked  day  and  night,  gathering,  arrang 
ing,  elaborating  all  the  information  demanded  by  Congress. 
When  he  was  not  directing  his  subordinates,  he  was  shut  up 
in  his  library  preparing  his  statements  and  replies.  His 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  413 

meals  were  taken  to  him ;  his  family  did  not  see  him  for 
weeks,  except  as  he  passed  them  on  his  way  to  or  from  the 
front  door.  He  sent  in  report  after  report  to  Congress  with 
a  celerity  that  shattered  his  health,  but  kept  his  enemies  on 
the  jump,  and  worked  them  half  to  death.  The  mass  of 
manuscript  he  sent  would  have  furnished  a  modest  book 
store,  and  the  subjects  and  accounts  with  which  he  was  so 
familiar  drove  Madison  and  others,  too  opposed  to  finance 
to  master  the  maze  of  it,  close  upon  the  borders  of  frenzy. 
It  had  been  their  uncommunicated  policy  to  carry  the  mat 
ter  over  to  the  next  session,  but  Hamilton  was  determined 
to  have  done  with  them  by  adjournment. 

And  in  the  midst  of  this  tremendous  pressure  arrived 
George  Washington  Lafayette. 

It  was  on  the  first  Saturday  of  his  retirement  into  the 
deep  obscurity  of  his  library,  with  orders  that  no  one  knock 
under  penalty  of  driving  him  from  the  house,  that  Hamil 
ton,  opening  the  door  suddenly  with  intent  to  make  a  dash 
for  his  office,  nearly  fell  over  Angelica.  She  was  standing 
just  in  front  of  the  door,  and  her  face  was  haggard. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  here  ?  "  demanded  her  father. 

"Three  hours,  sir." 

"  Three  !      Have  you  stood  all  that  time  ?  " 

Angelica  nodded.  She  was  determined  not  to  cry,  but 
she  was  wise  enough  not  to  tax  the  muscles  of  her  throat. 

Hamilton  hesitated.  If  the  child  fidgeted,  she  would 
distract  his  attention,  great  as  were  his  powers  of  concen 
tration  ;  but  another  searching  of  her  eyes  decided  him. 

"Very  well,"  he  said.  "Go  in,  but  mind  you  imagine 
that  you  are  a  mouse,  or  you  will  have  to  leave." 

When  he  returned,  she  was  sitting  in  a  low  chair  by  his 
desk,  almost  rigid.  She  had  neither  doll  nor  book.  "  This 
will  never  do,"  he  thought.  "What  on  earth  shall  I  do 
with  the  child  ? "  His  eye  fell  upon  the  chaos  of  his 
manuscript.  He  gathered  it  up  and  threw  it  on  the  sofa. 
"  There,"  he  said,  "  arrange  that  according  to  the  numbers, 
and  come  here  every  five  minutes  for  more." 

And  Angelica  spent  two  hours  of  every  day  in  the 
library,  useful  and  happy. 


4H  THE   CONQUEROR 

One  day  Hamilton  was  obliged  to  attend  a  Cabinet 
meeting,  and  to  spend  several  hours  at  his  office  just 
after.  Returning  home  in  the  early  winter  dusk,  he  saw 
two  small  white  faces  pressed  against  the  hall  window. 
One  of  them  was  Angelica's,  the  other  he  had  never  seen. 
As  he  entered,  his  daughter  fell  upon  him. 

"This  is  George  Washington  Lafayette,"  she  announced 
breathlessly.  "  He  came  to-day,  and  he  doesn't  speak  any 
English,  and  he  won't  go  near  Betsey  or  anyone  but  me, 
and  he  won't  eat,  and  I  know  he's  miserable  and  wretched, 
only  he  won't  cry.  His  tutor's  ill  at  the  Inn." 

The  little  Frenchman  had  retired  to  the  drawing-room. 
Angelica  darted  after  him  and  dragged  him  forward  into 
the  light.  He  was  small  for  his  age,  but  his  features  had 
the  bold  curious  outline  of  his  father's.  He  carried  him 
self  with  dignity,  but  it  was  plain  that  he  was  terrified  and 
unhappy.  Hamilton  gave  him  a  warm  embrace,  and  asked 
him  several  questions  in  French.  The  boy  brightened  at 
once,  answered  rapidly  and  intelligently,  and  took  firm 
possession  of  his  new  friend's  hand. 

"  I  am  more  happy  now,"  he  announced.  "  I  don't  like 
the  other  people  here,  except  this  little  girl,  because  they 
do  not  speak  French,  but  you  are  a  Frenchman,  and  I 
shall  love  you,  as  my  father  said  I  should  —  long  ago  !  I 
will  stay  with  you  day  and  night." 

"Oh,  you  will?"  exclaimed  Hamilton.  "I  am  going  to 
send  you  to  school  with  my  boys." 

"  Oh,  not  yet,  sir  !  not  yet !  "  cried  the  boy,  shrilly.  "  I 
have  seen  so  many  strangers  on  that  dreadful  ship,  and  in 
France  —  we  hid  here,  there  —  moving  all  the  time.  I 
wish  to  live  with  you  and  be  your  little  boy." 

"  And  so  you  shall,  but  I  am  uncommonly  busy." 

"  He  is  a  very  quiet  little  boy,"  interposed  Angelica, 
who  was  three  years  his  junior.  "  He  would  not  move  if  he 
sat  in  your  room,  and  I  will  take  him  for  a  walk  every  day. 
He  will  die  if  he  has  to  sit  in  a  room  by  himself  all  day." 

"I  shall  sleep  with  you,  sir,  I  hope?"  asked  young 
Lafayette,  eagerly.  "  I  have  thought  all  day  of  the  dark 
of  to-night.  I  have  seen  such  terrible  things,  sir !  " 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  415 

"  Good  Heaven  !  "  thought  Hamilton,  "  is  it  not  enough 
to  be  dry  nurse  to  a  nation  ? "  But  he  could  not  refuse, 
and  during  the  few  hours  he  snatched  for  sleep  he  was 
half  strangled.  By  day  the  boy  sat  quietly  in  a  corner 
of  the  library,  and  studied  the  text-books  his  guardian 
bought  him.  Betsey  did  all  she  could  to  win  him,  but  he 
had  no  faith  in  people  who  could  not  speak  his  language. 
Angelica,  like  all  of  Hamilton's  children,  knew  something  of 
French,  and  he  liked  her  and  accepted  her  motherly  atten 
tions  ;  but  Hamilton  he  adored.  The  moment  his  absorbed 
friend  made  for  the  front  door  he  was  after  him,  and  Ham 
ilton  let  him  run  at  his  heels,  lest  he  get  neither  air  nor 
exercise.  He  had  no  time  at  present  to  take  him  to  call 
on  his  august  godfather,  and,  in  truth,  he  dreaded  the  pros 
pect.  Washington  knew  nothing  of  children,  and  his  di 
minutive  namesake  would  probably  be  terrified  into  spasms. 

XXXIII 

The  three  long  and  exhaustive  reports,  accounting  hon 
ourably  for  every  penny  entrusted  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  justifying  every  payment,  measure,  and  in 
vestment,  had  gone  to  the  Congress.  Nine  days  later 
Giles  brought  forward  nine  resolutions  of  censure  against 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  But  by  this  time  Congress 
had  made  up  its  mind,  and  many  of  the  Republicans  were 
disgusted  and  humiliated.  The  Federalists  were  trium 
phant,  and  amused  themselves  with  Giles,  drawing  him  on, 
to  confound  him  with  ridicule  and  proof  of  the  absurdity 
of  his  charges.  Madison,  desperate,  lost  his  head  and  the 
respect  of  many  of  his  colleagues,  by  asserting  hysterically 
that  the  House  was  impotent  to  change  the  truth  of  the 
accusations,  and  that  in  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion  the 
Secretary  would  be  condemned.  But  Hamilton  was  tri 
umphantly  vindicated  by  Congress  and  the  Nation  at  large. 
His  house  was  in  a  state  of  siege  for  weeks  from  people 
of  all  parts  of  the  country,  come  to  congratulate  him ;  his 
desk  obliterated  by  letters  he  had  no  time  to  read.  The 
Federals  were  jubilant.  Their  pride  in  Hamilton  was  so 


416  THE   CONQUEROR 

great  that  a  proclamation  from  above  would  not  have  dis 
turbed  their  faith,  and  they  were  merciless  to  the  discom 
fited  enemy.  In  truth,  the  Virginian  trio  and  their  close 
adherents  were  mortified  and  confounded.  In  their  hearts 
they  had  not  believed  Hamilton  guilty  of  dishonesty,  but 
they  had  been  confident  that  his  affairs  were  in  chaos,  that 
large  sums  must  have  escaped,  not  conceiving  that  any 
mortal  could  at  the  same  time  create  gigantic  schemes, 
and  be  as  methodical  as  a  department  clerk  in  every  detail 
of  his  great  office. 

Although  Hamilton  had  commanded  his  brain  to  dwell 
exclusively  upon  the  vindication  and  its  means,  the  deeps 
below  were  bitter  and  hot.  When  the  work  was  over,  and 
exhausted  in  body  and  mind  he  went  about  his  duties 
mechanically,  or  attempted  to  find  distraction  in  his  family, 
he  felt  as  if  the  abundant  humanity  in  him  were  curdled ; 
and  he  longed  for  a  war,  that  he  might  go  out  and  kill 
somebody.  It  was  small  compensation  that  the  Virgin 
ian  ring  were  grinding  their  teeth,  and  shivering  under 
daily  shafts  of  humiliation  and  ridicule.  So  terrible  was 
the  position  in  which  they  had  placed  him,  so  immeasura 
bly  had  they  added  to  the  sum  of  his  contempt  for  human 
kind,  that  individually  they  occupied,  for  a  time,  but  a 
corner  of  his  thought. 

His  only  solace  during  this  trial  had  been  Washington; 
he  had  been  too  busy  and  too  frozen  for  Mrs.  Croix.  But 
that  closest  of  his  friends,  although  forced  by  his  high 
office  to  a  position  of  stern  neutrality,  did  all  he  could  in 
private  to  convince  Hamilton  of  his  unaltered  affection 
and  regard.  As  soon  as  the  vindication  was  complete 
he  fell  into  the  habit  of  finishing  his  daily  walk  with  an 
hour  in  Hamilton's  library.  But  if  his  visits  were  a  pleas 
ure  to  his  Secretary,  they  were  wretchedness  unleavened 
for  two  other  members  of  the  family.  The  President  never 
failed  to  ask  for  Angelica  and  George  Washington  Lafa 
yette  ;  and  upon  their  prompt  but  unwilling  advent  he  would 
solemnly  place  one  on  either  knee,  where  they  remained 
for  perhaps  half  an  hour  in  awe-stricken  misery.  They  had 
orders  to  show  no  distress,  and  they  behaved  admirably; 


"ALEXANDER  THE    GREAT"  417 

but  although  young  Lafayette  was  rapidly  learning  Eng 
lish,  the  fact  did  not  lessen  his  fear  of  this  enormous  man, 
who  spoke  so  kindly,  and  looked  as  if  he  could  have 
silenced  the  Terror  with  the  awful  majesty  of  his  presence. 
Angelica,  being  an  independent  little  American,  was  less 
overwhelmed,  but  she  was  often  on  the  verge  of  hysterics. 
It  was  the  short  session  of  Congress,  and  in  March,  George, 
with  scalding  but  dignified  tears,  accompanied  his  godfather 
to  Mount  Vernon,  whence  he  wrote  Hamilton  a  daily  letter 
of  lament,  until  habit  tempered  his  awe ;  from  that  point 
he  passed  with  Gallic  bounds  into  an  ardent  affection  for 
the  great  man,  who,  if  of  an  unearthly  dignity,  was  always 
kind,  and,  when  relieved  of  the  cares  of  State,  uniformly 
genial. 

The  respite  in  Philadelphia  was  brief.  In  April  came 
the  first  news  of  the  beheading  of  the  French  king;  and 
the  same  tardy  packets  brought  word  that  France  was  at 
war  with  England  and  Spain.  Hamilton  sent  the  news, 
express  haste,  to  Washington,  and  dismissed  every  con 
sideration  from  his  brain  but  the  terrible  crisis  forced  upon 
the  United  States,  and  the  proper  measures  to  save  her  from 
shipwreck.  In  the  early  stages  of  the  French  Revolution 
he  had  predicted  the  developments  with  such  accuracy  to 
Henry  Walter  Livingston  that  the  new  Secretary  of  Legation, 
upon  his  arrival  in  Paris,  told  Gouverneur  Morris  —  United 
States  minister  since  1792- — that  to  his  astonishment  he 
found  nothing  to  surprise  him.  Therefore  the  prophet  had 
long  been  determined  upon  the  policy  the  United  States 
should  pursue  when  this  crisis  shot  out  of  the  eastern 
horizon  ;  he  had  now  but  to  formulate  it  in  such  a  manner 
that  every  point  could  be  grasped  at  once  by  the  Cabinet, 
and  acted  upon.  When  Washington  arrived  in  Philadel 
phia  and  summoned  his  advisers,  Hamilton  presented  twelve 
questions  for  discussion,  the  most  pressing  of  which  were : 
Shall  a  proclamation  issue  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
interferences  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the  war 
between  France  and  Great  Britain,  etc.  ?  Shall  it  contain 
a  declaration  of  neutrality  ?  Shall  a  minister  from  this 
Republic  of  France  be  received  ? 


4i8  THE  CONQUEROR 

Jefferson  was  in  a  far  less  enviable  position  than  Hamil 
ton.  He  neither  wished  for  war,  nor  dared  he  machinate 
for  it ;  but  with  all  his  democratic  soul  he  loved  the  cause 
which  was  convulsing  the  world  from  its  ferocious  centre 
in  France.  Had  Jefferson  come  of  stout  yeoman  stock, 
like  John  Adams,  or  of  a  long  line  of  patrician  ancestors, 
like  Hamilton,  and,  to  a  lesser  degree,  like  Washington,  he 
might,  judging  from  certain  of  his  tastes,  and  his  love  of 
power,  have  become,  or  been,  as  aristocratic  in  habit  and 
spirit  as  were  most  men  of  his  wealth,  position,  and  impor 
tance  in  the  young  country.  But  the  two  extremes  met  in 
his  blood.  The  plebeianism  of  his  father  showed  itself  in 
the  ungainly  shell,  in  the  indifference  to  personal  cleanli 
ness,  and  in  the  mongrel  spirit  which  drove  him  to  acts  of 
physical  cowardice  for  which  his  apologists  blush.  But  his 
mother  had  belonged  to  the  aristocracy  of  Virginia,  and 
this  knowledge  induced  a  sullen  resentment  that  he  should 
be  so  unlike  her  kind,  so  different  in  appearance  from  the 
courtly  men  of  his  State.  Little  was  wanting  to  accelerate 
his  natural  desire  to  level  his  country  to  a  plane  upon  which 
with  his  gifts  he  easily  could  loom  as  a  being  of  superior 
mould ;  but  when  a  British  sovereign  publicly  turned  his 
back  upon  him,  and  the  English  court,  delighted  with  its 
cue,  treated  him  with  an  unbearable  insolence,  nothing 
more  was  needed  to  start  the  torrent  of  his  hate  against 
all  who  stood  for  aristocracy.  Democracy  rampant  on  all 
sides  of  him,  during  his  sojourn  in  France,  found  in  him 
not  only  an  ardent  sympathizer,  but  a  passionate  advocate. 
He  quite  overlooked  the  fact  th?t  he  failed  to  persuade  the 
country  of  his  enthusiasm  to  accord  the  United  States  fair 
commercial  treatment :  it  embodied  and  demonstrated  his 
ideal  of  liberty,  equality,  fraternity,  and  he  was  its  most 
devoted  friend,  unresting  until  he  had  insinuated  his  own 
admiration  into  the  minds  of  his  followers  in  America,  and 
made  Jacobinism  a  party  issue. 

To  turn  his  back  upon  France,  therefore,  to  help  her 
neither  in  money  nor  moral  support,  was  a  policy  he  had 
no  intention  to  pursue,  could  he  avoid  it ;  but  knowing  his 
weakness  in  the  Cabinet,  he  suggested  an  extra  session  of 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  419 

Congress.  It  would  then  be  an  easy  matter  to  throw  the 
responsibility  upon  his  followers  in  both  Houses,  while  he 
stood  to  the  country  as  working  consistently  and  harmoni 
ously  in  his  great  office. 

But  Hamilton,  who  understood  him  thoroughly,  would 
listen  to  no  proposition  which  would  involve  weeks  of 
delay,  inflame  further  the  public  mind,  and  give  Jefferson 
an  opportunity  to  make  political  capital.  Moreover,  he 
would  have  no  such  confession  of  weakness  go  out  from 
the  Administration.  He  prevailed,  and  in  that  first  meet 
ing  Jefferson  was  forced  to  consent  also  to  the  immediate 
issue  of  a  proclamation  to  the  people.  He  argued  with 
such  fervour,  however,  against  the  use  of  the  word 
"neutrality,"  declaring  that  the  Executive  had  no  constitu 
tional  authority  so  far  to  commit  the  people,  that  Wash 
ington,  to  humour  him,  omitted  the  word,  while  declaring 
authoritatively  for  the  substance.  It  was  also  agreed  that 
Genet,  the  new  Minister  from  France,  sent  by  the  Revolu 
tionists  to  succeed  M.  Ternant,  should  be  received.  The 
first  meeting  closed  tranquilly,  for  both  Hamilton  and 
Jefferson  had  tacitly  admitted  that  it  was  no  time  for 
personal  recrimination. 

But  the  Cabinet  met  daily,  and  other  subjects,  notably 
Hamilton's  contention  that  their  treaties  made  with  a  proper 
French  government  no  longer  existed,  came  up  for  elabo 
rate  discussion ;  Hamilton  had  an  exhaustive  report  pre 
pared  on  each  of  them.  The  two  Secretaries,  who  hated 
each  other  as  two  men  hardly  have  hated  before  or  since, 
and  who  realized  that  they  had  met  for  their  final  engage 
ment  in  official  life,  soon  dismissed  any  pretence  at  con- 
wrd,  and  wrangled  habitually  —  with  cutting  sarcasm  or 
crushing  force  on  Hamilton's  part,  with  mild  but  deadly 
venom  on  Jefferson's ;  until  he  too  was  maddened  by  a 
jagged  dart  which  momentarily  routed  his  tender  regard 
for  his  person.  Jefferson  wrenched  one  victory  from  the 
Cabinet  despite  Hamilton's  determined  opposition  :  Genet's 
reception  should  be  absolute.  But  on  all  other  important 
points  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  scored,  and  stone  by 
stone  built  up  the  great  policy  of  neutrality  which  prevailed 


420  THE   CONQUEROR 

until  the  year  1898;  impressed  into  the  Government  the 
"  Doctrine  "  —  he  had  formulated  it  in  "  The  Federalist  " 
which  was  to  immortalize  the  name  of  a  man  who  created 
nothing.  Hamilton,  with  all  the  energy  and  obstinacy  of 
his  nature,  was  resolved  that  the  United  States  should  not 
have  so  much  as  a  set-back  for  the  sake  of  a  country  whose 
excesses  filled  him  with  horror,  much  less  run  the  risk  of 
being  sucked  into  the  whirlpool  of  Europe  ;  and  he  watched 
every  move  Jefferson  made,  lest  his  secret  sympathies 
commit  the  country.  When,  after  a  triumphal  procession 
through  miles  of  thoughtless  enthusiasts,  who  remembered 
only  the  services  of  France,  forgot  that  their  friends  had 
been  confined  entirely  to  the  royalty  and  aristocracy  that 
the  mob  was  murdering,  and  were  intoxicated  by  the  ex 
treme  democracy  of  the  famous  Secretary  of  State,  Genet 
arrived  in  Philadelphia,  inflated  and  bumptious,  his  brain 
half  crazed  by  the  nervous  excitement  of  the  past  two 
years,  and  was  received  with  frigid  politeness  by  Washing 
ton,  Hamilton  was  not  long  discovering  that  Jefferson  was  in 
secret  sympathy  and  intercourse  with  this  dangerous  fire 
brand.  The  news  had  preceded  and  followed  the  new 
minister  that  he  had  been  distributing  blank  commissions 
to  all  who  would  fit  out  privateers  to  prey  upon  British 
commerce,  opening  headquarters  for  the  enlistment  of 
American  sailors  into  the  French  service,  and  constituting 
French  consuls  courts  of  admiralty  for  the  trial  and  con 
demnation  of  prizes  brought  in  by  French  privateers. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia  he  demanded  of 
Hamilton  the  arrears  of  the  French  debt,  which  the  Secre 
tary  had  refused  to  pay  until  there  was  a  stable  govern 
ment  in  France  to  receive  it.  Hamilton  laughed,  locked 
the  doors  of  the  Treasury,  and  put  the  key  in  his  pocket. 
To  Genet's  excited  volubility  and  pertinacity  he  paid  as 
little  attention  as  to  Jefferson's  arguments.  Moreover,  he 
reversed  all  Citizen  Genet's  performances  in  the  South  ; 
and  in  course  of  time,  even  the  captured  British  ships,  to 
the  wrath  and  disgust  of  Jefferson,  were  returned  to  their 
owners. 

Freneau's  Gazette  supported  the  Secretary  of  State  with 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  421 

the  desperation  of  an  expiring  cause ;  in  this  great  final 
battle,  were  Jefferson  driven  from  the  Cabinet,  his  faithful 
organ  must  scurry  to  the  limbo  of  its  kind.  It  assailed 
the  Administration  for  ingratitude  and  meanness,  then 
turned  its  attention  almost  exclusively  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury.  It  accused  him  of  abstracting  the  moneys 
due  to  France,  of  plundering  the  industrious  farmer  with 
the  Excise  Law,  destroying  the  morals  of  the  people  by 
Custom  House  duties ;  resurrected  the  old  discrimination 
cry  and  asserted  vehemently  that  he,  and  he  alone,  had 
robbed  the  poor  soldiers.  It  raked  every  accusation,  past 
and  present,  from  its  pigeon  holes.  Jefferson,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  held  up  as  a  model  of  the  disinterested 
statesman,  combining  virtues  before  which  those  falsely 
attributed  to  Washington  paled  and  expired  ;  and  as  the 
only  man  fit  to  fill  the  Executive  Chair.  Genet  accepted  all 
this  as  gospel,  fortunately,  perhaps,  for  the  country ;  for 
his  own  excesses  and  impudence,  his  final  threat  to  appeal 
from  the  President  to  the  people,  ruined  him  with  the  cool 
ing  heads  of  the  Republican  party,  and  finally  lost  him 
even  the  support  of  Jefferson. 

Meanwhile,  after  stormy  meetings  of  the  Cabinet,  Ham 
ilton,  in  the  peace  of  his  library,  with  Angelica  sorting  his 
pages,  —  until  she  went  to  the  North,  —  had  written  a  series 
of  papers  defending  the  proclamation.  They  were  so  able 
and  convincing,  so  demonstrable  of  the  treasonable  efforts 
of  the  enemy  to  undermine  the  influence  of  the  Administra 
tion,  so  cool  and  so  brilliant  an  exposition  of  the  rights  and 
powers  of  the  Executive,  that  on  July  /th  Jefferson  wrote 
to  Madison :  "  For  God's  sake,  my  dear  sir,  take  up  your 
pen.  Select  the  most  striking  heresies,  and  cut  him  to 
pieces  in  the  face  of  the  public." 

Madison  hastened  to  obey  his  chief  in  a  series  of  papers 
which  tickled  the  literary  nerve,  but  failed  to  convince. 
That  the  laurels  were  to  Hamilton  was  another  bitter  pill 
which  Jefferson  was  forced  to  swallow.  Nevertheless, 
Hamilton,  despite  his  victories,  felt  anything  but  amiable. 
He  was  so  exhausted  that  he  was  on  the  verge  of  a  collapse, 
and  triumphs  were  drab  under  the  daily  harassment  of 


422  THE   CONQUEROR 

Jefferson,  Genet,  and  Freneau.  Matters  came  to  a  climai 
one  day  in  August,  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  yellow 
fever. 

XXXIV 

Hamilton  laid  down  a  copy  of  Freneau's  Gazette,  whose 
editorial  columns  were  devoted,  as  usual,  to  persuading 
the  people  of  the  United  States  that  they  were  miserable, 
and  that  they  owed  their  misery  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  It  also  contained  a  shameful  assault  upon  the 
President.  As  he  lifted  another  paper  from  the  pile  on 
his  library  table,  his  eyes  fell  on  the  following  address  to 
himself :  — 

O  votary  of  despotism  !  O  abettor  of  Carthaginian  faith  !  Blush  ! 
Can  you  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the  hearts  of  the  yeomanry  of 
America  are  becoming  chilled  and  insensible  to  the  feelings  of  insulted 
humanity  like  your  own  ?  Can  you  think  that  gratitude,  the  most  en 
dearing  disposition  of  the  human  heart,  is  to  be  argued  away  by  your 
dry  sophistry  ?  Do  you  suppose  the  people  of  the  United  States  pru 
dently  thumb  over  Vattel  and  Pufendorf  to  ascertain  the  sum  and  sub 
stance  of  their  obligations  to  their  generous  brethren,  the  French  ? 
No  !  no  !  Each  individual  will  lay  his  hand  on  his  heart  and  find  the 
amount  there.  He  will  find  that  manly  glow,  both  of  gratitude  and 
love,  which  animated  his  breast  when  assisted  by  this  generous  people 
in  establishing  his  own  liberty  and  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  British 
despotism  ! 

In  the  Aurora  he  was  denounced  as  the  foe  of  France 
and  the  friend  of  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  the  high  priest 
of  tyranny,  the  bitterest  enemy  of  the  immortal  French 
trio,  Liberte,  Egalite,  Fraternite ;  the  subtle  and  Machia 
vellian  adviser  of  Washington,  who,  relieved  of  this  per 
nicious  influence,  would  acknowledge  the  debts  of  gratitude 
and  follow  the  will  of  the  American  people. 

"  Are  they  mad  ?  "  he  thought,  flinging  the  entire  pile  into 
the  waste-basket.  "  Or  are  they  merely  so  eager  for  power 
and  our  ruin  that  they  are  indifferent  to  the  fact  that  the 
Administration,  and  the  foundations  upon  which  it  stands, 
never  has  needed  the  support  of  the  people  more  than  now  ? 
Can  only  the  party  in  power  afford  to  be  patriotic  ?  What 
a  spectacle  is  this,  that  I,  an  alien  born,  am  wearing  out 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  423 

my  life  and  sacrificing  my  character,  to  save  from  themselves 
a  people  who  pant  for  my  ruin  !  Has  the  game  been  worth 
the  candle  ?  Debt,  my  family  crowded  into  a  house  not 
half  large  enough  to  hold  them,  my  health  almost  gone,  my 
reputation,  in  spite  of  repeated  vindications,  undermined 
by  daily  assault  —  for  the  fools  of  the  world  believe  what 
they  are  told,  and  I  cannot  compromise  my  dignity  by 
replying  to  such  attacks  as  these ;  above  all,  a  sickening 
and  constant  disgust  for  life  and  human  nature !  Is  the 
game  worth  the  candle  ?  Had  I  remained  at  the  bar,  I 
should  have  given  my  family  abundance  by  now  ;  with 
only  the  kind  and  quantity  of  enemies  that  stimulate.  It 
is  only  politics  that  rouse  the  hellish  depths  in  the  human 
heart.  It  is  true  that  I  have  saved  the  country,  made  it 
prosperous,  happy,  and  honoured.  But  what  guaranty 
have  I  that  this  state  will  last  beyond  the  administration  of 
Washington  ?  With  the  Republicans  in  power  the  whole 
edifice  may  be  swept  away,  the  country  in  a  worse  plight 
than  before,  and  the  author  of  its  brief  prosperity  forgotten 
with  his  works.  I  shall  have  lived  in  vain,  and  leave  my 
sons  to  be  educated,  my  family  to  be  supported,  by  my 
father-in-law." 

He  was  in  no  mood  to  see  the  reverse  side  of  the  picture ; 
and  indeed  his  cares  were  so  many  and  overwhelming  at 
this  time  that  it  is  little  wonder  he  believed  he  had  lost  for 
ever  the  gay  buoyancy  of  his  spirits.  In  addition  to  the 
predominating  trials,  financial  matters  were  demanding  all 
the  leisure  he  should  have  given  to  rest,  heavy  failures  in 
England  having  seriously  affected  the  money  concerns  of 
the  United  States ;  and  the  rebellions  in  the  West  against  the 
Excise  Law  were  sounding  a  new  alarm.  Moreover,  his 
constant  efforts  to  obtain  Duer's  release  were  unavailing ; 
he  could  get  no  word  of  Lafayette  ;  and  the  last  packet  had 
brought  a  rumour  of  the  murder  of  Gouverneur  Morris  by 
the  mob.  Altogether,  he  may  be  excused  for  forgetting 
that  he  was  still  the  most  dazzling  figure  in  America,  in  the 
full  tide  of  actual  success,  and  an  object  of  terrified  hatred 
to  a  powerful  ring  who  could  reach  their  zenith  over  his 
political  corpse,  and  by  no  other  means  whatever. 


424  THE   CONQUEROR 

He  picked  up  his  hat,  and  went  forth  reluctantly  to  a 
Cabinet  meeting.  It  was  early,  and  he  saw  Washington 
for  a  few  moments  alone  in  the  library.  The  President 
was  in  a  no  more  cheerful  or  amiable  frame  of  mind  than 
himself.  His  responsibilities  in  this  terrible  crisis  wore 
on  his  spirits  and  temper  ;  and  the  daily  fear  that  his  Secre 
taries  would  come  to  blows,  —  for  Jefferson  was  in  the  worst 
humour  of  the  quintette,  —  to  say  nothing  of  the  assaults  of 
the  press,  made  him  openly  regret  the  hour  he  was  per 
suaded  into  the  Executive  Chair.  But  his  entire  absence 
of  party  spirit,  despite  his  secret  sympathy  with  every 
measure  of  Hamilton's,  his  attitude  of  stern  neutrality, 
never  emerged  more  triumphantly  from  any  trial  of  his 
public  career ;  nor  did  he  ever  exhibit  the  magnanimity  of 
his  character  more  strikingly  than  in  his  undisturbed  affec 
tion  for  Hamilton,  while  daily  twitted  with  being  the  tool  of 
his  "  scheming  and  ambitious  Secretary." 

Hamilton  saw  a  copy  of  Freneau's  Gazette  in  the  waste- 
basket,  but  by  common  consent  they  ignored  the  subjects 
which  would  be  unavoidable  in  a  few  moments,  and  spoke 
of  the  stifling  heat,  of  the  unhealthy  state  of  Philadelphia, 
the  menace  of  the  San  Domingo  refugees  pouring  into 
the  city,  of  the  piles  of  putrid  coffee  and  hides  on  the 
wharves  at  the  foot  of  Mulberry  Street,  and  of  the  car 
casses  of  rotting  hogs  and  horses  which  lay  everywhere. 

"  Thank  Heaven,  we  can  get  our  women  and  children  out 
of  it,"  said  the  President.  "  And  unless  we  can  finish  this 
business  in  another  week,  I  shall  take  the  Government  to 
the  country.  I  suppose  we  are  entitled  to  escape  with  our 
lives,  if  they  leave  us  nothing  else." 

They  entered  the  Council  Chamber  and  found  the  others 
in  their  accustomed  seats.  Jefferson's  brow  was  corrugated, 
his  weak  and  mincing  mouth  pressed  out  of  shape.  He 
had  just  finished  reading  the  last  of  Hamilton's  "  No 
Jacobin"  papers,  published  that  morning,  in  which  Genet's 
abominable  breaches  of  decorum,  violation  of  treaties,  and 
deliberate  insults  to  the  Executive  —  and  through  him  to 
the  American  people  —  had  been  set  forth  in  so  clear 
pointed  and  dispassionate  a  manner,  that  no  thinking 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  425 

Republican  who  read  could  fail  to  be  convinced  of  the 
falseness  of  his  position  in  supporting  this  impudent  and 
ridiculous  Frenchman.  Furthermore,  the  Secretary  of 
State  had  been  forced,  through  the  exigencies  of  his  posi 
tion,  to  sign  despatch  after  despatch,  letter  after  letter,  in 
violation  of  his  private  sympathies.  He  was  feeling  not 
only  as  angry  as  a  cornered  bull,  but  extremely  virtuous. 
He  hated  what  he  firmly  believed  to  be  the  cold  and  selfish 
policy  of  the  Administration,  as  he  hated  every  other  policy 
it  had  executed ;  and  the  knowledge  that  he  had  sacrificed 
his  personal  feelings  to  save  his  country  from  discord, 
made  him  feel  a  far  better  man  than  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  who  had  a  diabolical  talent  for  getting  his  own 
way.  He  had  some  reason  to  be  pleased  with  his  conduct, 
and  with  his  share  in  contributing  to  a  series  of  measures 
which  later  on  won  for  the  Cabinet  at  that  crucial  period 
the  encomiums  of  history ;  and  when  time  had  abated  the 
fevers,  Hamilton  would  have  been  the  first  to  acknowledge 
that  Jefferson  not  only  was  the  brake  which  the  Adminis 
tration  needed  at  that  time,  but  that,  owing  to  his  popularity 
with  the  French  and  the  masses  of  the  United  States,  he 
reduced  the  danger  of  a  popular  uprising. 

As  Hamilton  took  his  seat  this  morning,  however,  the 
blood  was  in  his  head,  and  he  and  Jefferson  exchanged  a 
glance  of  sullen  hate  which  made  Washington  extend  his 
long  arms  at  once.  All  went  well  until  the  President,  with 
a  premonitory  sigh,  introduced  the  dynamic  name,  Genet. 
Hamilton  forgot  his  debility,  and  was  all  mind,  alert  and 
energetic.  Jefferson,  who  had  come  to  hate  Genet  as  an 
intolerable  nuisance,  would  have  been  the  first  at  another 
moment  to  counsel  the  demand  for  recall  which  he  knew 
was  now  inevitable,  but  he  was  in  too  bad  a  humour  to-day 
to  concur  in  any  measure  agreeable  to  Hamilton. 

The  latter  had  replied  promptly  to  Washington's  remark 
that  the  time  had  come  to  take  definite  action  with  regard 
to  the  light-headed  Frenchman,  who  continued  to  fit  out 
and  despatch  privateers,  and  was  convulsing  the  country 
generally. 

"  Pray  send  him  home,  bag  and  baggage,  sir.     He  is  not 


426  THE   CONQUEROR 

entitled  to  the  dignity  or  consideration  of  the  usual  for 
malities.  Moreover,  he  is  the  trigger  of  the  United  States 
so  long  as  he  remains  at  liberty  in  it.  I  estimate  that  there 
is  a  new  Jacobin  club  formed  daily.  At  any  moment  he 
may  do  something  which  will  drive  these  fools,  under  their 
red  caps  and  cockades,  mad  with  admiration." 

Jefferson  brought  his  brows  down  to  the  root  of  his  nose. 
" '  Fools '  is  not  the  word  for  an  honest  enthusiasm  for 
liberty,  sir.  I  regret  the  present  excitement  —  its  manifes 
tations  at  this  moment  —  as  much  as  anyone  — " 

"  Indeed  ?  I  am  amazed.  Who,  then,  is  responsible  for 
them  ? " 

"  Not  I,  sir." 

"  Oh,  let  us  have  no  more  hypocrisy,  at  all  events,"  said 
Hamilton,  contemptuously.  He  had  his  wrath  under  con 
trol,  but  he  suddenly  determined  to  force  the  climax.  "  If 
you  had  employed  your  secret  pen  to  better  purpose,  or 
not  employed  it  at  all,  there  would  not  be  a  Jacobin  club  in 
the  country;  this  ridiculous  Frenchman,  unencouraged  by 
your  private  sympathy,  by  your  assurances  of  my  inability 
to  withhold  the  residue  of  the  debt,  would  have  calmed  down 
long  since  I  accuse  you  here,  deliberately  and  publicly, 
instead  of  writing  private  letters  to  the  public,  both  because 
I  have  not  your  commanding  talent  for  patient  and  devious 
ways,  and  because  I  wish  you  to  declare,  unequivocally, 
whether  or  not  you  purpose  to  continue  this  policy  of  ob 
struction.  Time  presses.  We  must  act  at  once  with  regard 
to  this  Frenchman.  Reserve  subterfuge  for  some  more 
opportune  time,  and  let  us  know  what  you  intend  to  do." 

Jefferson  looked  with  appeal  at  Washington,  who  usually 
interposed  when  his  Secretaries  arrived  at  personalities. 
But  Washington,  although  his  face  was  as  immobile  as 
stone,  was  so  sick  with  anger  and  disgust  over  the  whole 
situation,  at  what  appeared  to  be  the  loss  of  the  popular 
faith  in  himself,  and  the  ridicule  and  abuse  which  had 
filled  the  columns  of  Freneau's  paper  that  morning,  that 
it  was  a  relief  to  him  to  hear  Hamilton  explode. 

"  I  repudiate  every  word  you  have  said,  sir,"  growled 
Jefferson.  "  More  I  will  not  say.  As  to  Citizen  Genet, 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  427 

with  whom  I  have  never  had  a  word  of  private  inter 
course — "  Here,  even  Washington  lifted  his  head,  and 
Hamilton  laughed  outright.  Jefferson  continued,  deter 
mined  upon  martyrdom  rather  than  rouse  the  terrible  pas 
sions  opposite  :  "  As  to  Citizen  Genet,  if  the  Cabinet  agree 
that  it  is  best  he  leave  this  country,  I  shall  demand  that 
his  recall  be  requested  in  the  regular  manner,  in  accord 
ance  with  every  principle  of  international  courtesy.  He 
may  be  imprudent,  intoxicated  with  the  glorious  wine  of 
liberty,  but  he  is  a  Frenchman,  a  distinguished  citizen  of 
the  great  country  that  came  so  nobly  to  our  rescue,  and  I 
protest  against  the  base  ingratitude  which  would  fling 
insults  in  the  teeth  of  an  unfortunate  people." 

Hamilton  threw  back  his  head  impatiently,  and  drummed 
with  his  fingers  on  the  table.  "  The  primary  motive  of 
France  for  the  assistance  she  gave  us  was,  obviously,  to 
enfeeble  a  hated  and  powerful  rival.  A  second  motive  was 
to  extend  her  relations  of  commerce  in  the  new  world,  and 
to  acquire  additional  security  for  her  possessions  there,  by 
forming  a  connection  with  this  country  when  detached 
from  Great  Britain.  To  ascribe  to  her  any  other  motives, 
to  suppose  that  she  was  actuated  by  friendship  toward  us, 
is  to  be  ignorant  of  the  springs  of  action  which  invariably 
regulate  the  cabinets  of  princes.  A  despotic  court  aid  a 
popular  revolution  through  sympathy  with  its  principles ! 
For  the  matter  of  that,  if  you  insist  upon  American  states 
men  being  sentimental  fools,  the  class  that  assisted  us  has 
been  murdered  by  the  rabble,  which  I  refuse  to  recognize 
as  France.  And  if  it  be  your  object  to  reduce  this  coun 
try  to  a  similar  position  that  you  may  climb  over  maddened 
brains  to  power —  " 

"  Hear  !  "  roared  Jefferson,  justly  indignant.  "  I  ?  Never 
a  man  loved  peace  as  I  do.  My  life  has  been  hell  since 
you  have  forced  me  into  daily  conflict,  when,  God  knows, 
I  perish  with  desire  for  the  peace  of  my  homely  life  in 
Virginia.  Power !  I  scorn  it,  sir.  I  leave  that  to  restless 
upstarts  like  yourself  —  " 

He  stopped,  choking.  Hamilton  laughed  contemptu 
ously. 


428  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  You  are  at  work  with  your  pen  day  and  night,  strength 
ening  your  misnamed  party,  and  preparing  the  way  by 
which  you  can  lift  yourself  to  a  position  where  you  can 
undo  all  that  the  party  you  hate,  because  it  is  composed  of 
gentlemen,  has  accomplished  for  the  honour  and  prosperity 
of  your  country.  You  are  perfectly  well  aware  that  Genet 
was  sent  here  to  stir  up  a  civil  war,  and  embroil  us  with 
Europe  at  the  same  time,  and  you  have  secretly  sympa 
thized  with  and  encouraged  him.  I  cannot  make  up  my 
mind  whether  you  are  a  villain,  or  merely  the  victim  of 
a  sublimated  and  paradoxical  imagination.  But  in  either 
case,  I  wish  to  be  placed  on  record  as  asserting  that  you 
are  the  worst  enemy  the  United  States  is  cursed  with 
to-day." 

This  was  too  much  for  Jefferson,  who  had  convinced  him 
self  that  he  was  a  high-minded  and  self-sacrificing  states 
man,  stooping  to  devious  ways  for  the  common  good.  He 
forgot  his  physical  fear,  and  shouted,  pounding  the  table 
with  his  fist :  — 

"  How  dare  you,  sir?  How  dare  you?  It  is  you  who 
are  ruining,  corrupting,  and  dishonouring  this  unhappy 
country,  with  your  Banks,  your  devilish  methods  to  cement 
the  aristocracy,  your  abominable  Excise  Law  — 

"  Oh,  but  you  have  counteracted  that  so  effectively !  I 
was  coming  to  that  point.  I  conceived  a  measure  by  which 
to  meet  an  imperative  financial  demand,  and  you,  by  your 
agents,  by  your  secret  machinations,  have  been  the  author 
of  insurrection  after  insurrection,  of  the  most  flagrant 
breaches  of  the  laws  of  your  country.  You  have  cost 
innumerable  men,  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  plain  duty, 
their  self-respect,  and  in  several  cases  their  lives.  Another 
hideous  problem  is  approaching  —  one,  I  am  persuaded, 
that  can  be  solved  by  arms  and  bloodshed  alone  ;  and  to 
your  pen,  to  your  deliberate  unsettling  of  men's  minds,  to 
the  hatred  you  have  inspired  for  the  lawful  government 
of  this  country,  to  you,  and  to  you  alone  — 

"  It's  a  lie  !  a  lie  !  "  shouted  Jefferson.  "  You  are  speak 
ing  to  an  honourable  man,  sir  !  one  who  occupies  a  position 
in  this  country  both  by  birth  and  breeding  that  you  would 


"ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT"  429 

give  your  soul  —  you  adventurer !  —  to  possess.  Go  back 
to  your  Islands!  You  have  no  place  here  among  men  of 
honourable  birth.  It's  monstrous  that  this  country  should 
be  ruled  by  a  foreign  bastard  — !  " 

For  a  moment,  every  one  present  had  a  confused  idea 
that  a  tornado  was  in  the  room.  Then  two  doors  were 
wrenched  open,  Jefferson  fled  down  the  street,  with  Ran 
dolph,  bearing  his  hat,  in  pursuit ;  Knox  was  holding 
Hamilton  firmly  in  his  arms  ;  and  Washington,  who  had 
risen  some  moments  since,  and  stood  staring  in  grim  dis 
gust,  awaiting  the  end,  was  divided  between  a  desire  to 
laugh,  and  to  give  way  to  a  burst  of  fury  himself. 

Hamilton  had  made  no  attempt  to  struggle  when  Knox 
caught  him,  but  he  now  withdrew  from  the  relaxing  arms, 
and  the  Secretary  of  War  left  the  room  hastily.  Hamilton, 
to  Washington's  astonishment,  flung  himself  into  a  chair, 
and  dropped  his  head  on  his  arms.  In  a  moment,  he  began 
to  sob  convulsively.  A  malignant  fever  was  breeding  in 
his  depressed  system ;  the  blood  still  surged  in  his  head. 
He  had  a  despairing  sense  that  his  character  was  in  ruins  ; 
he  was  humiliated  to  his  depths;  he  despised  himself  so 
bitterly  that  he  forgot  the  existence  of  Jefferson. 

The  humour  and  anger  died  out  of  Washington.  He 
went  forward  hastily  and  locked  the  door.  Then  he  stooped 
over  Hamilton,  and  pressed  him  closely  in  his  arms. 

"  My  dear  boy  !  "  he  said  huskily.     "  My  dear  boy  !  " 


XXXV 

That  was  the  last  of  Hamilton's  battles  in  the  Cabinet. 
Jefferson  resigned  ;  although,  in  order  that  the  Administra 
tion  might,  until  the  crisis  was  past,  preserve  an  unbroken 
front  to  the  country,  he  reluctantly  consented  to  withhold 
his  resignation  until  the  assembling  of  Congress.  He 
retired  to  Monticello,  however ;  and  apologized  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury. 

Hamilton,  almost  immediately,  was  taken  down  with 
yellow  fever,  which  broke  out  suddenly  and  raged  with  a 


430  THE  CONQUEROR 

fearful  violence.  To  the  ordinary  odours  of  carcasses  and 
garbage,  were  added  those  of  vinegar,  tar,  nitre,  garlic, 
and  gunpowder.  Every  disinfectant  America  had  ever 
heard  of  was  given  a  trial,  and  every  man  who  possessed 
a  shot-gun  fired  it  all  day  and  all  night.  The  bells  tolled 
incessantly.  The  din  and  the  smells  were  hideous,  the 
death  carts  rattled  from  dawn  till  dawn;  many  were  left 
unburied  in  their  houses  for  a  week  ;  hundreds  died  daily  ; 
and  the  city  confessed  itself  helpless,  although  it  cleaned 
the  streets.  Hamilton  had  a  very  light  attack,  but  Dr. 
Stevens  dropped  in  frequently  to  see  him ;  he  privately 
thought  him  of  more  importance  than  all  Philadelphia. 

Lying  there  and  thinking  of  many  things,  too  grateful 
for  the  rest  to  chafe  at  the  imprisonment,  and  striving  for 
peace  with  himself,  Hamilton  one  day  conceived  the  idea 
of  immersing  yellow-fever  patients  in  ice-water.  Microbes 
were  undiscovered,  but  Hamilton,  perhaps  with  a  flashing 
glimpse  of  the  truth,  reasoned  that  if  cold  weather  invari 
ably  routed  the  disease,  a  freezing  of  the  infected  blood 
should  produce  the  same  result.  He  succeeded  in  convinc 
ing  Stevens,  with  the  issue  that  when  the  scourge  was 
over,  the  young  West  Indian  doctor  had  so  many  cures 
to  his  credit,  where  all  other  physicians  had  failed,  that 
the  City  Council  presented  him  with  a  silver  tankard,  grate 
fully  inscribed,  and  filled  with  golden  coins.  Hamilton's 
fecund  brain,  scattering  its  creations,  made  more  than  one 
reputation. 

Meanwhile,  he  awoke  one  day  to  find  Mrs.  Croix  sitting 
beside  his  bed.  She  had  left  town  in  June,  and  usually 
did  not  return  until  late  in  September.  She  wore  a  white 
frock  and  a  blue  sash,  and  looked  like  an  angel  about  to 
do  penance. 

"  I  have  come  back  to  take  care  of  the  sick,  including 
yourself,"  she  announced,  "  I  was  born  to  be  a  nurse, 
and  I  felt  that  my  place  was  here.  I  have  come  to  see 
you  first,  and  I  shall  call  daily,  but  otherwise  I  am  in  Dr. 
Stevens's  hands." 

Hamilton  stared  at  her.  He  was  not  surprised,  for  she 
was  kind  hearted  in  her  erratic  imperious  fashion,  and 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  431 

much  beloved  by  the  poor ;  nor  was  she  afraid  of  anything 
under  heaven.  But  she  was  the  last  person  he  had 
wished  to  see ;  she  was  for  his  triumphant  hours,  or  his  furi 
ous,  not  for  helpless  invalidism.  He  had  longed  consist 
ently  for  his  wife,  and  written  to  her  by  every  packet  boat, 
lest  she  suspect  his  illness  and  return  to  ti:e  plague- 
stricken  city.  He  was  filled  with  a  sudden  resentment 
that  any  other  woman  should  presume  to  fill  her  chair. 
To  forget  her  under  overwhelming  provocation  he  had 
reconciled  to  his  conscience  with  little  difficulty,  for  his 
extenuations  were  many,  and  puritanism  had  not  yet 
invaded  the  national  character;  but  to  permit  another 
woman  to  ministrate  to  him  when  ill,  he  felt  to  be  an  un 
pardonable  breach  of  his  Eliza's  rights,  and  his  loyalty 
rebelled.  So,  although  he  treated  Mrs.  Croix  with  polite 
ness  while  she  remained,  he  gave  orders  to  Dr.  Stevens 
to  keep  her  away  upon  any  pretext  he  chose.  "  I  am  too 
nervous  to  be  bothered  with  women,"  he  added ;  and 
Stevens  obeyed  without  comment. 

Hamilton's  convalescence  was  cheered  by  two  facts : 
the  revival  of  his  spirits  and  equilibrium,  and  frequent 
assurances  from  his  wife  that  for  the  first  time  in  five  years 
she  was  entirely  well.  She  wrote  that  she  had  regained 
all  her  old  colour,  "  spring,"  vivacity,  and  plumpness,  and 
felt  quite  ten  years  younger.  Hamilton  was  delighted  ;  for 
her  courage  had  so  far  exceeded  her  strength  that  he  had 
often  feared  a  collapse.  Although  she  detested  the  sight 
of  a  pen,  she  was  so  elated  with  her  recovered  health  that 
she  wrote  to  him  weekly.  Suddenly,  and  without  explana 
tion,  the  letters  stopped.  Still,  he  was  quite  unprepared 
for  what  was  to  follow,  and  on  the  first  of  October,  his 
health  improved  by  a  short  sojourn  in  the  country,  he 
went  to  the  wharf  to  meet  the  packet-boat  which  invariably 
brought  his  family ;  his  pockets  full  of  sweets,  and  not  a 
misgiving  in  his  mind. 

As  he  stood  on  the  wharf,  watching  the  boat  towed  slowly 
to  dock,  his  four  oldest  children  suddenly  appeared,  waving 
their  hats  and  shouting  like  young  Indians.  James,  who 
was  as  broad  as  he  was  long,  and  was  wedged  firmly 


432  THE    CONQUEROR 

between  Angelica  and  Philip  lest  he  turn  over,  swelled  a 
chorus  which  excited  much  amusement  among  by-standers. 
To  Hamilton's  surprise  his  wife  did  not  occupy  her  usual 
place  behind  that  enthusiastic  group,  but  as  the  boat  touched 
the  pier,  and  all  four  precipitated  themselves  upon  him  at 
once,  —  the  three  oldest  about  his  neck,  and  James  upon 
his  pockets,  —  he  forgot  her  for  the  moment  in  the  delight 
of  seeing  and  embracing  his  children  after  three  months  of 
separation.  He  emerged  from  that  wild  greeting,  dishev 
elled  and  breathless,  only  to  disappear  once  more  within 
six  long  arms  and  a  circle  of  sunburned  faces.  Hamilton 
received  from  his  children  an  almost  frantic  affection ; 
indeed,  few  people  merely  liked  him ;  it  was  either  hate  or 
a  love  which  far  transcended  the  bounds  of  such  affection 
as  the  average  mortal  commands.  The  passion  he  in 
spired  in  his  children  cost  one  his  life,  another  her  rea 
son,  and  left  its  indelible  mark  on  a  third ;  but  for  what 
they  gave,  they  received  an  overflowing  measure  in  return; 
no  man  was  ever  more  passionately  attached  to  his  brood, 
nor  took  a  greater  delight  in  its  society. 

Suddenly,  through  the  web  of  Angelica's  flying  locks,  he 
saw  that  his  wife  had  appeared  on  deck  and  was  about  to 
land.  He  disentangled  himself  hastily  and  went  forward 
to  greet  her.  In  a  flash  he  noted  that  she  was  prettier 
than  ever,  and  that  she  was  affected  by  something  far 
more  extraordinary  than  an  increase  of  health.  She  threw 
back  her  head,  and  her  black  eyes  flashed  with  anger  as  he 
approached  with  the  assurance  of  thirteen  years  of  connu 
bial  ownership ;  but  she  greeted  him  politely  and  took  his 
arm.  No  explanation  was  possible  there,  and  he  escorted 
her  and  the  children  to  the  coach  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Philip,  Angelica,  and  Alexander  were  sensible  at  once  of 
the  chasm  yawning  between  the  seats  ;  they  redoubled 
their  attentions  to  their  father,  and  regarded  their  mother 
with  reproving  and  defiant  eyes.  Poor  Betsey,  conscious 
that  she  was  entirely  in  the  right,  felt  bitter  and  humili 
ated,  and  sought  to  find  comfort  in  the  indifference  of 
James,  who  was  engaged  with  a  cornucopia  and  blind  to 
the  infelicity  of  his  parents. 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  433 

When  they  reached  the  house,  Hamilton  dismissed  the 
children  and  opened  the  door  of  his  library. 

"  Will  you  come  in  ?  "  he  said  peremptorily. 

Mrs.  Hamilton  entered,  and  sat  down  on  a  high-backed 
chair.  She  was  very  small,  her  little  pigeon  toes  were 
several  inches  above  the  floor ;  but  no  judge  on  his  bench 
ever  looked  so  stern  and  so  inexorable. 

"  Now,"  said  Hamilton,  who  was  cold  from  head  to  foot, 
for  he  had  an  awful  misgiving,  "  let  us  have  an  explana 
tion  at  once.  This  is  our  first  serious  misunderstanding, 
and  you  well  know  that  I  shall  be  in  misery  until  it  is 
over  — " 

"  I  have  not  the  least  intention  of  keeping  you  in  sus 
pense,"  interrupted  Betsey,  sarcastically.  "  I  am  too 
thankful  that  you  did  not  happen  to  come  to  Saratoga 
when  /  was  prostrated  with  misery.  I  have  gone  through 
everything,  —  every  stage  of  wretchedness  that  the  human 
heart  is  capable  of,  —  but  now,  thank  Heaven,  I  am  filled 
with  only  a  just  indignation.  Read  that !  " 

She  produced  a  letter  from  her  reticule  and  flipped  it  at 
him.  Even  before  he  opened  it  he  recognized  the  familiar 
handwriting,  the  profuse  capitals,  of  Mrs.  Reynolds.  For 
tunately,  he  made  no  comment,  for  the  contents  were 
utterly  different  from  his  quick  anticipation.  It  contained 
a  minute  and  circumstantial  account  of  his  visits  during 
the  past  year  to  Mrs.  Croix,  with  many  other  details,  which, 
by  spying  and  bribing,  no  doubt,  she  had  managed  to 
gather.  Failing  one  revenge,  the  woman  had  resorted  to 
another,  and  fearing  that  it  might  be  lost  among  the 
abundant  and  surfeiting  lies  of  the  public  press,  she  had 
aimed  at  what  he  held  most  dear.  The  letter  was  so 
minute  and  circumstantial  that  it  would  have  convinced 
almost  any  woman. 

There  was  but  one  thing  for  Hamilton  to  do,  and  he  lied 
with  his  unsurpassable  eloquence.  When  he  paused  tenta 
tively,  his  wife  remarked  :  — 

"  Alexander,  you  are  a  very  great  man,  but  you  are  a 
wretchedly  poor  liar.  As  Mr.  Washington  would  say, 
your  sincerity  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  your  gifts, 


434  THE   CONQUEROR 

and  without  it  you  could  not  convince  a  child.  As  if  this 
were  not  enough,  only  yesterday,  on  the  boat,  I  over 
heard  two  of  your  intimate  friends  discussing  this  intrigue 
as  a  matter  of  course.  There  was  not  a  word  of  censure 
or  criticism  ;  they  were  merely  wondering  when  you  would 
add  to  your  enemies  ;  for  as  this  woman  was  desperately  in 
love  with  you,  she  was  bound  to  hate  you  as  violently 
when  you  tired  of  her.  I  think  men  are  horrors ! "  she 
burst  out  passionately.  "  When,  unable  to  bear  this  terrible 
affliction  any  longer,  and  unwilling  to  worry  my  poor 
mother,  I  took  that  letter  and  my  grief  to  my  father  —  what 
do  you  suppose  he  said  ?  After  he  had  tried  to  convince 
me  that  the  story  was  a  base  fabrication,  and  that  an 
anonymous  communication  should  be  destroyed  unread  — 
as  if  any  woman  living  would  not  read  an  anonymous  letter ! 
—  he  said,  crossly,  that  women  did  not  understand  men  and 
never  made  allowances  for  them  ;  and  he  went  on  to  make  as 
many  excuses  for  you  as  if  he  were  defending  himself  ;  and 
then  wound  up  by  saying  that  he  did  not  believe  a  word  of 
it,  and  that  the  letter  was  written  by  someone  you  had 
flouted.  But  it  seemed  to  me  in  those  awful  days  that  I 
was  awake  for  the  first  time,  that  for  the  first  time  I  under 
stood  you  —  and  your  horrid  sex,  in  general  —  I  do  !  I  do  !  " 

She  looked  so  adorable  with  her  flashing  eyes,  the  hot 
colour  in  her  cheek,  and  the  new  personality  she  exhibited, 
that  Hamilton  would  have  foregone  a  triumph  over  his 
enemies  to  kiss  her.  But  he  dared  not  make  a  false  move, 
and  he  was  terribly  perplexed. 

"I  can  only  reiterate,"  he  said,  "that  this  letter  is  a  lie 
from  beginning  to  end.  It  is  written  by  a  woman,  who, 
with  her  husband,  has  blackmailed  me  and  jeopardized  my 
reputation.  I  treated  them  as  they  deserved,  and  this  is 
their  next  move.  As  for  Mrs.  Croix,  I  repeat,  she  is  a 
most  estimable  person,  whose  brilliant  wit  and  talent  for 
politics  draw  all  public  men  about  her.  There  is  hardly  one 
among  them  who  might  not  be  victimized  by  a  similar  attack. 
I  doubt  if  I  have  called  half  as  often  as  many  others.  As 
for  the  friends  whom  you  heard  discussing  my  visits  —  you 
know  the  love  of  the  human  mind  for  scandal.  Please  be 


« ALEXANDER  THE    GREAT"  435 

reasonable.  You  have  made  me  the  most  wretched  man 
on  earth.  I  shall  be  unfit  for  public  duty  or  anything  else 
if  you  continue  to  treat  me  in  this  brutal  manner.  I  hardly 
know  you.  No  woman  was  ever  more  loved  by  her  husband 
or  received  more  devotion." 

Betsey  almost  relented,  he  looked  so  miserable.  But  she 
replied  firmly :  "  There  is  one  condition  I  have  a  right  to 
make.  If  you  agree  to  it,  I  will  consider  if  I  can  bring 
myself  to  believe  your  denial  and  your  protestations.  It  is 
that  you  never  enter  Mrs.  Croix's  house  again,  nor  see  her 
willingly." 

Hamilton  knew  what  the  promise  would  mean,  but  his 
mind  worked  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  in  great  crises, 
and  never  erred.  He  replied  promptly  : 

"I  will  see  her  once,  and  once  only  —  to  give  her  a 
decent  reason  for  not  calling  again  —  that  I  understand  I 
am  compromising  her  good  name,  or  something  of  the 
sort.  I  have  accepted  too  much  hospitality  at  her  hands 
to  drop  her  brusquely,  without  a  word  of  explanation." 

"  You  can  write  her  a  letter.  You  can  merely  send 
polite  excuses  when  she  invites  you.  You  are  very  busy. 
You  have  every  excuse.  Gradually,  she  will  think  no  more 
about  you  — if  it  be  true  that  she  is  nothing  to  you.  You 
have  your  choice,  sir  !  Either  your  promise,  or  I  return  by 
the  next  packet  to  Albany." 

But  Hamilton,  always  considerate  of  women,  and  despis 
ing  the  weakness  and  brutality  which  permits  a  man  to 
slink  out  of  an  amour,  would  not  retreat,  and  Betsey 
finally  settled  herself  in  her  chair,  and  said,  with  unmis 
takable  determination  :  — 

"  Very  well,  go  now.  I  shall  not  move  from  this  room 
• — this  chair  —  until  you  return." 

Hamilton  caught  his  hat  and  left  the  house.  Although 
he  was  possessed  by  the  one  absorbing  desire  to  win  back 
his  wife,  who  had  never  been  so  dear  as  to-day,  when  for 
the  first  time  she  had  placed  him  at  arm's  length  and  given 
him  a  thorough  fright,  still  his  brain,  accustomed  to  see  all 
sides  of  every  question  at  once,  and  far  into  the  future, 
spoke  plainly  of  the  hour  when  he  would  regret  the  loss 


436  THE   CONQUEROR 

of  Mrs.  Croix.  He  might  forget  her  for  weeks  at  a  time, 
but  he  always  reawakened  to  a  sense  of  her  being  with  a 
glowing  impression  that  the  world  was  more  alive  and  fair. 
The  secret  romance  had  been  very  dear  and  pleasant.  The 
end  was  come,  however,  and  he  was  eager  to  pass  it. 

His  eye  was  attracted  to  a  chemist's  window,  and  enter 
ing  the  shop  hastily,  he  purchased  a  bottle  of  smelling 
salts.  The  act  reminded  him  of  Mrs.  Mitchell,  and  that 
he  had  not  heard  from  her  for  several  months.  He 
resolved  to  write  that  night,  and  permitted  his  mind  to 
wander  to  the  green  Island  which  was  almost  lost  among 
his  memories.  The  respite  was  brief,  however. 

To  his  relief  he  found  Mrs.  Croix  in  her  intellectual 
habit.  The  lady,  who -was  reading  in  the  door  of  her 
boudoir  above  the  garden  steps,  exclaimed,  without  formal 
greeting :  — 

"  I  am  transported,  sir.  Such  descriptions  never  were 
written  before.  Listen  !  " 

Hamilton,  who  hated  descriptions  of  scenery  at  any  time, 
and  was  in  his  most  direct  and  imperative  temper,  stood  the 
infliction  but  a  moment,  then  asked  her  attention.  She  closed 
the  book  over  her  finger  and  smiled  charmingly. 

"  Forgive  me  for  boring  you,"  she  said  graciously.  "  But 
you  know  my  passion  for  letters ;  and  if  truth  must  be 
told,  I  am  a  little  piqued.  I  have  not  laid  eyes  on  you  for 
a  fortnight.  Not  but  that  I  am  used  to  your  lapses  of 
memory  by  this  time,"  she  added,  with  a  sigh, 

Hamilton  went  straight  to  the  point.  He  told  her  the 
exact  reason  for  the  necessary  breach,  omitting  nothing 
but  the  episode  of  Mrs.  Reynolds ;  one  cause  of  reproach 
was  as  much  as  a  man  could  be  expected  to  furnish  an 
angry  woman. 

For  Mrs.  Croix  was  very  angry.  At  first  she  had  pressed 
her  hand  against  her  heart  as  if  about  to  faint,  and  Hamilton 
had  hastily  extracted  the  salts ;  but  the  next  moment  she  was 
on  her  feet,  towering  and  expanding  like  an  avenging  queen 
about  to  order  in  her  slaves  with  scimitars  and  chargers. 

"  Do  you  mean,"  she  cried,  "  that  I  am  flouted,  flung 
aside  like  an  old  cravat  ?  I  ?  With  half  the  men  in  Amer- 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  437 

ica  in  love  with  me  ?  Good  God,  sir !  I  have  known  from 
the  beginning  that  you  would  tire,  but  I  thought  to  be  on 
the  watch  and  save  my  pride.  How  dare  you  come  like 
this  ?  Why  could  you  not  give  me  warning  ?  It  is  an 
outrage.  I  would  rather  you  had  killed  me." 

"  I  am  sorry  I  have  blundered,"  said  Hamilton,  humbly. 
"  But  how  in  Heaven's  name  can  a  man  know  how  a  woman 
will  take  anything?  I  had  such  respect  for  your  great  in 
telligence  that  I  thought  it  due  you  to  treat  you  as  I  would 
a  man  — 

"  A  man  ? "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Croix.  "  Treat  me  like  a 
man !  Of  all  the  supremely  silly  things  I  ever  heard 
one  of  your  sex  say,  that  is  the  silliest.  I  am  not  a  man, 
and  you  know  it." 

Hamilton  hastened  to  assure  her  that  she  was  deliberately 
averting  her  intelligence  from  his  true  meaning.  "  You 
have  never  doubted  my  sincerity  for  a  moment,"  he  added. 
"  You  surely  know  what  it  will  cost  me  never  to  see  you 
again.  There  is  but  one  cause  under  heaven  that  could 
have  brought  me  to  you  with  this  decision.  You  may 
believe  in  my  regret  —  to  use  a  plain  word  —  when  you 
reflect  upon  all  that  you  have  been  to  me." 

He  was  desperately  afraid  that  her  anger  would  dissolve 
in  tears,  and  he  be  placed  in  a  position  from  which  he  was 
not  sure  of  emerging  with  a  clear  conscience,  —  and  he 
dared  take  home  nothing  less.  But  Mrs.  Croix,  however 
she  might  feel  on  the  morrow,  was  too  outraged  in  her 
pride  and  vanity  to  be  susceptible  either  to  grief  or  the 
passion  of  love.  She  stormed  up  and  down  the  room  in 
increasing  fury,  her  eyes  flashing  blue  lightning,  her  strong 
hands  smashing  whatever  costly  offering  they  encountered. 
"  Wives  !  Wives  !  Wives  !  "  she  screamed.  "  The  little 
fools !  What  are  wives  for  but  to  keep  house  and  bring 
up  babies  ?  They  are  a  class  apart.  I  have  suffered 
enough  from  their  impertinent  interference.  Am  I  not 
a  woman  apart  ?  Will  you  assert  that  there  is  a  '  wife ' 
in  America  who  can  hold  her  own  with  me  for  a  moment 
in  anything  ?  Was  I  not  created  to  reveal  to  men  —  and 
only  the  ablest,  for  I  waste  no  time  on  fools  —  the  very 


438  THE   CONQUEROR 

sublimation  of  my  sex  —  a  companionship  they  will  find  in 
no  silly  little  fool,  stupid  with  domesticity  ?  Am  I  to  sub 
mit,  then,  to  be  baulked  by  a  sex  I  despise  —  and  in  the 
greatest  passion  that  ever  possessed  a  woman  ? "  She 
stopped  and  laughed,  bringing  her  lashes  together  and 
moving  forward  her  beautiful  lips.  "What  a  fool  I  am  !  " 
she  said.  "  You  will  come  back  when  the  humour  seizes 
you.  I  had  forgot  that  your  family  returned  to-day.  You 
are  in  your  most  domestic  mood  —  and  I  have  been  inflicted 
with  that  before.  But  there  will  come  an  hour  when  neither 
your  wife  nor  any  other  mortal  power  will  keep  you  away 
from  me.  Is  it  not  true  ?  " 

Hamilton  had  turned  pale ;  his  ready  imagination  had 
responded  with  a  presentiment  of  many  desperate  strug 
gles.  He  rose,  and  took  her  hand  forcibly. 

"No,"  he  said.  "I  shall  not  return.  Believe  me,  that 
is  the  hardest  sentence  I  have  ever  pronounced  upon 
myself.  And  forgive  me  if  I  have  been  rude  and  incon 
siderate.  It  was  the  result  of  the  desire  to  have  the  agony 
over  as  quickly  as  possible.  I  should  have  found  the  antici 
pation  unbearable,  and  I  do  not  believe  it  would  have  been 
more  soothing  to  you.  There  is  no  reason  why  your  pride 
should  be  wounded,  for  this  is  not  the  result  of  satiety  on 
my  part,  but  of  an  imperative  necessity.  Shake  hands  with 
me." 

She  wrenched  her  hand  free  and,  seizing  a  vase,  flung  it 
into  a  mirror.  Hamilton  retreated. 

XXXVI 

He  had  been  gone  just  thirty-five  minutes.  Betsey  re 
ceived  him  with  stern  approval  and  announced  that  she  had 
implicit  faith  in  his  promise  to  avoid  Mrs.  Croix  in  the 
future.  But  it  was  quite  evident  that  his  punishment  was 
unfinished,  and  with  due  humility  and  some  humour  he  bided 
her  pleasure.  Between  the  two  women  he  had  a  lively 
month.  Mrs.  Croix  wrote  him  a  letter  a  day.  At  first  it 
was  evident  that  she  had  taken  herself  in  hand,  that  her 
pen  was  guided  by  her  marvellous  intelligence.  She  apolo- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  439 

gized  charmingly  for  her  exhibition  of  temper,  and  for  any 
reflection  she  might  have  made  upon  the  most  estimable  of 
women,  who  (with  a  sigh)  had  the  happiness  to  be  the  wife 
of  Alexander  Hamilton.  She  ignored  his  ultimatum  and 
asked  him  to  come  at  once,  and  talk  the  matter  over  calmly. 
Hamilton  replied  with  the  graceful  playfulness  of  which  he 
was  master,  but  left  no  doubt  of  his  continuity  of  purpose. 
After  the  interchange  of  several  letters  of  this  complexion, 
in  which  Mrs.  Croix  was  quite  conscious  of  revealing  the 
ample  resources  of  her  wit,  spirit,  and  tact,  she  broke  down 
and  went  through  every  circumstance  of  a  despairing 
woman  fighting  to  recover  the  supreme  happiness  of  her 
life.  At  times  she  was  humble,  she  prostrated  herself  at  his 
feet.  Again  she  raved  with  all  the  violence  of  her  nature. 
Her  pride,  and  it  was  very  great,  was  submerged  under  the 
terrible  agony  of  her  heart.  Even  passion  was  forgotten, 
and  she  was  sincere  for  the  moment  when  she  vowed  that 
she  had  no  wish  beyond  his  mere  presence. 

Hamilton  was  horribly  distressed.  He  would  rather  she 
had  turned  upon  him  at  once  with  all  her  tigerish  capacity 
for  hate.  But  he  had  given  his  word  to  his  wife,  and  that 
was  the  end  of  it.  He  answered  every  letter,  but  his  gal 
lantry  and  kindness  were  pitch  and  oil,  and  it  was  with 
profound  relief  that  he  watched  the  gradual  stiffening  of 
her  pride,  the  duH  resentment,  even  although  he  knew  it 
meant  that  an  enemy,  subtle,  resourceful,  and  venomous, 
was  in  the  process  of  making.  In  her  final  letter  she 
gave  him  warning  —  and  a  last  opportunity.  But  of  this 
he  took  no  notice. 

Meanwhile,  Betsey  had  led  him  a  dance.  Naturally  bright, 
but  heretofore  too  sheltered  and  happy,  too  undisturbed  in 
her  trust,  she  had  done  little  thinking,  little  analysis,  felt 
nothing  but  amusement  for  the  half-comprehended  vagaries 
of  men.  But  jealousy  and  suffering  give  a  woman,  in  a 
week,  a  fill  of  knowledge  and  cunning  that  will  serve  her 
a  lifetime.  Betsey  developed  both  coquetry  and  subtlety. 
She  knew  that  if  she  obtained  command  of  the  situation  now, 
she  should  hold  it  to  the  end,  and  she  was  determined  that 
this  crisis  should  result  in  a  close  and  permanent  union. 


440  THE   CONQUEROR 

If  she  finally  believed  his  denial,  she  was  much  too  shrewd 
to  give  him  the  satisfaction  of  regaining  his  former  mastery 
of  her  mind  ;  but  she  ceased  to  speak  of  it.  Meanwhile,  he 
was  devoting  his  energies  to  winning  her  again,  and  he 
had  never  found  life  so  interesting.  She  radiated  a  new  be 
witchment,  and  he  had  always  thought  her  the  most  ador 
able  woman  on  the  planet.  He  divined  a  good  many  of  her 
mental  processes ;  but  if  he  was  a  trifle  amused,  he  was 
deeply  respectful.  She  was  sufficiently  uncertain  in  this 
new  character  to  torment  him  unbearably,  and  when  she 
occasionally  betrayed  that  she  was  interested  and  fasci 
nated,  he  was  transported.  When  she  finally  succumbed, 
he  was  more  in  love  than  he  had  ever  been  in  his  life. 


XXXVII 

The  next  seven  years  of  Hamilton's  life  must  be  reviewed 
very  rapidly.  Interesting  as  they  might  be  made,  space 
diminishes,  and  after  all  they  were  but  the  precursor  of  the 
last  great  battle  of  the  giants. 

In  the  spring  of  1794  the  Virginian  ring  rallied  for  their 
final  assault  in  Congress.  Their  spokesman  this  time  was 
a  worthless  man,  named  Fraunces,  and  he  brought  forth  a 
charge  against  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  unfaith 
fulness  in  office.  Hamilton  promptly  demanded  another 
investigation.  The  result  may  be  found  in  the  following 
letters  from  eminent  Federals  in  Virginia.  The  first  is 
from  Colonel  Carrington,  dated  Richmond,  July  Qth. 

I  do  not  write  this  letter  as  congratulatory  upon  the  final  issue  of  the 
Inquiry  into  the  Treasury  Department,  as  I  never  conceived  you  exposed 
to  receive  injury  therefrom.  I  write  to  express  my  most  sincere  wishes 
that  you  will  not  suffer  the  illiberality  with  which  you  have  been  treated 
to  deprive  the  public  of  your  services,  at  least  until  the  storm  which 
hangs  over  us,  and  is  to  be  dreaded,  not  less  from  our  own  follies  and 
vices  than  the  malignance  and  intrigues  of  foreigners,  blows  over.  It  is 
true  you  have  been  abused,  but  it  has  been  and  still  is,  the  fate  of  him 
who  was  supposed  out  of  the  reach  of  all  slander.  It  is  indeed  the  lot, 
in  some  degree,  of  every  man  amongst  us  who  has  the  sense  or  fortitude 
to  speak  and  act  rationally,  and  such  men  must  continue  so  to  speak  and 
act  if  we  are  saved  from  anarchy. 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  441 

On  July  2Oth,  Thomas  Corbin  wrote  to  Hamilton  de 
ploring  the  political  conditions  in  Virginia  created  by 
Thomas  Jefferson,  in  which  these  significant  passages 
occur : — 

Calumny  and  misrepresentation  are  the  only  weapons  made  use  of 
by  the  faction  of  Virginia.  By  a  dexterous  management  of  these  they 
have  brought  into  popular  disrepute,  and  even  into  popular  odium,  some 
of  the  wisest  and  best  characters  in  the  United  States. 

War  is  waged  by  this  faction  against  every  candidate  who  possesses 
the  union  of  requisites.  Independent  fortune,  independent  principles, 
talents,  and  integrity  are  denounced  as  badges  of  aristocracy ;  but  if 
you  add  to  these  good  manners  and  a  decent  appearance,  his  political 
death  is  decreed  without  the  benefit  of  a  hearing.  In  short,  with  a  few 
exceptions  everything  that  appertains  to  the  character  of  a  gentleman 
is  ostracized.  That  yourself  and  Mr.  Jay  should  be  no  favorites  in 
Virginia,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  But  all  those  whose  good  opinion 
is  worth  your  acceptance  entertain  for  you  both  the  same  veneration 
and  esteem,  and  hear  the  aspersions  of  your  enemies  with  the  same 
indignation  that  I  do  ;  who,  after  the  closest  examination,  and  the 
purest  conviction  can  conscientiously  subscribe  myself  etc. 

In  the  autumn  the  whiskey  disturbances  in  western  Penn 
sylvania  assumed  such  serious  proportions  that  Hamilton 
insisted  upon  recourse  to  arms.  With  his  usual  precision 
he  had  calculated  the  numbers  of  the  insurgents,  and  the 
amount  of  troops  necessary  to  overwhelm  them.  Wash 
ington  issued  requisitions  for  fifteen  thousand  men,  and 
set  out  with  the  troops,  his  first  intention  being  to  com 
mand  in  person.  Hamilton  accompanied  him,  and  upon 
the  President's  return  to  Philadelphia,  assumed  the  general 
superintendence  of  the  army,  whose  commander,  Henry 
Lee,  was  one  of  his  devoted  adherents.  Many  motives 
have  been  ascribed  to  Hamilton  for  this  exceptional  pro 
ceeding,  and  Washington  was  bitterly  assailed  for  "not 
being  able  to  move  without  his  favourite  Secretary  at  his 
elbow,"  and  for  giving  additional  conspicuousness  to  a 
man  whose  power  already  was  a  "  menace  to  Republican 
liberties."  Randolph,  then  the  nominal  Secretary  of  State, 
but  quite  aware  that  while  Hamilton  remained  in  the  Cabi 
net  he  was  but  a  figurehead,  was  so  wroth,  that  later,  in  his 
futile  "Vindication,"  following  what  practically  was  his 
expulsion  from  the  Cabinet,  he  animadverted  bitterly  upon 


442  THE   CONQUEROR 

a  favour  which  no  one  but  Hamilton  would  have  presumed 
to  ask.  Fauchet,  the  successor  of  Genet,  in  the  intercepted 
letter  to  his  government,  which  brought  about  the  fall  of 
Randolph,  convicting  him  of  corruption  and  treachery,  has 
this  to  say  :  — 

The  army  marched  ;  the  President  made  known  that  he  was  going 
to  command  it  ;  Hamilton,  as  I  have  understood,  requested  to  follow 
him  ;  the  President  dared  not  refuse  him.  It  does  not  require  muca 
penetration  to  divine  the  object  of  this  journey.  In  the  President  it 
was  wise,  it  might  also  be  his  duty.  But  in  Mr.  Hamilton  it  was  a  con 
sequence  of  the  profound  policy  which  directs  all  his  steps  ;  a  measure 
dictated  by  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  human  heart.  Was  it  not  inter 
esting  for  him,  for  his  party,  tottering  under  the  weight  of  events  with 
out  and  accusations  within,  to  proclaim  an  intimacy  more  perfect  than 
ever  with  the  President,  whose  very  name  is  a  sufficient  shield  against 
the  most  formidable  attacks  ?  Now,  what  more  evident  mark  could  the 
President  give  of  his  intimacy  than  by  suffering  Mr.  Hamilton,  whose 
name,  even,  is  understood  in  the  west  as  that  of  a  public  enemy,  to  go 
and  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  army  which  went,  if  I  may  use  the 
expression,  to  cause  his  system  to  triumph  against  the  opposition  of  the 
people  ?  The  presence  of  Mr.  Hamilton  with  the  army  must  attach  it 
more  than  ever  to  his  party. 

There  were  depths  in  Hamilton's  mind  which  no  wise 
mortal  will  ever  attempt  to  plumb.  It  is  safe  to  say  he  did 
nothing  without  one  eye  on  a  far-reaching  policy  ;  and  aside 
from  the  pleasure  of  being  in  the  saddle  once  more,  riding 
over  the  wild  Alleghanies  in  keen  October  weather,  after 
four  years  of  the  stenches  and  climatic  miseries  of  Philadel 
phia,  aside  from  his  fear  of  Governor  Mifflin's  treachery,  and 
his  lack  of  implicit  confidence  in  Lee's  judgement,  it  is  quite 
likely  that  he  had  some  underlying  motive  relative  to  the 
advantage  of  his  party,  which  had  been  weakened  by  the 
incessant  assaults  upon  himself.  By  going  with  the  army 
he  not  only  demonstrated  the  perfect  confidence  reposed 
in  him  by  Washington,  and  his  determination  that  his  laws 
should  be  enforced,  but  he  gave  emphasis  to  his  belief 
that  the  resistance  to  the  Excise  Law  had  been  deliberately 
instigated  by  the  Republicans  under  the  leadership  of  his 
avowed  enemies.  In  this  connection  the  following  extract 
from  Fauchet's  letter  is  highly  interesting,  intimate  as  he 
was  with  the  Republican  leaders. 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  443 

Such  therefore  were  the  parts  of  the  public  grievance,  upon  which 
the  western  people  most  insisted.  Now,  these  complaints  were  sys 
tematizing  by  the  conversations  of  influential  men,  who  retired  into 
those  wild  countries,  and  who  from  principle,  or  from  a  series  of  par 
ticular  heart-burnings,  animated  discontents  already  too  near  to  effer 
vescence.  At  last  the  local  explosion  is  effected.  The  western  people 
calculated  on  being  supported  by  some  distinguished  characters  in  the 
east,  and  even  imagined  they  had  in  the  bosom  of  the  governmen' 
some  abettors,  who  might  share  in  their  grievance  or  their  principle. 

The  rioters,  sobered  by  the  organized  force  and  its 
formidable  numbers,  surrendered  without  bloodshed. 

In  January  of  the  following  year  Hamilton  resigned 
from  the  Cabinet.  The  pressing  need  of  his  services  was 
over,  and  he  had  many  reasons  for  retiring  from  office : 
his  health  was  seriously  impaired,  he  had  a  growing  family 
of  boys  to  educate ;  he  expected  his  father  by  every  ship 
from  the  Windward  Islands,  to  spend  his  last  years  in 
the  home  to  which  his  son  had  so  often  invited  him  ;  Mrs. 
Mitchell  was  now  a  widow  and  almost  penniless ;  and  his 
disgust  of  office  was  so  uncompromising  that  no  considera 
tion  short  of  an  imperative  public  duty  would  have  induced 
him  to  continue.  But  his  principal  reason,  as  he  wrote  to 
Mrs.  Church,  was  that  he  wished  to  indulge  his  domestic 
happiness  more  freely.  Washington  let  him  go  with  the 
less  reluctance  because  he  promised  immediate  response 
to  any  demand  the  President  might  make  upon  him.  He 
went  with  his  wife,  Angelica,  and  the  younger  children  to 
Albany  and  the  Saratoga  estate,  where  he  remained  until 
the  first  of  June,  endeavouring  to  regain  his  health  in  the 
forest  and  on  the  river.  Young  Lafayette  lived  with  him 
until  his  return  to  France,  in  1798. 

Upon  Hamilton's  return  to  New  York  he  immediately 
engaged  in  practice,  which  he  supplemented  by  coaching 
students ;  but  he  continued  to  be  Washington's  chief 
adviser,  and  the  correspondence  was  continuous  upon 
every  problem  which  confronted  the  harassed  President. 
Indeed,  when  one  reads  its  bulk,  one  wonders  if  the  Cabi 
net  did  anything  but  execute  Hamilton's  suggestions. 
Randolph  kicked  his  heels  in  impotent  wrath,  and  his 
successor's  correspondence  with  Hamilton  was  almost  as 


444  THE   CONQUEROR 

voluminous  as  Washington's.  So  was  Wolcott's,  who 
hardly  cancelled  a  bond  without  his  former  chief's  advice ; 
William  Smith,  the  auditor-general,  was  scarcely  less  in 
sistent  for  orders.  Hamilton  wrote  at  length  to  all  of 
them,  as  well  as  to  the  numerous  members  of  Congress 
who  wanted  advice,  or  an  interpretation  of  some  Constitu 
tional  provision  hitherto  on  the  shelf.  What  time  he  had 
for  his  practice  and  students  would  remain  a  mystery,  were 
it  not  for  the  manifest  price  he  paid  in  the  vigours  of  all 
but  will  and  brain. 

During  the  summer  of  1794  Talleyrand  visited  the 
United  States.  He  brought  a  package  from  Mrs.  Church 
to  Mrs.  Hamilton,  and  a  cordial  letter  from  the  same  im 
portant  source  to  the  statesman  whom  he  ranked  higher 
than  any  man  of  his  time.  "  He  improves  upon  acquaint 
ance,"  wrote  Mrs.  Church  to  her  sister;  "I  regret  that 
you  do  not  speak  French."  But  her  sister's  husband  spoke 
French  better  than  any  man  in  America,  and  after  the  resig 
nation  from  the  Cabinet,  Talleyrand  spent  most  of  his  time 
in  the  little  red  brick  house  at  26  Broadway,  where  Hamil 
ton  was  working  to  recover  his  lost  position  at  the  bar. 
"  I  have  seen  the  eighth  wonder  of  the  world,"  wrote  the 
Frenchman,  one  morning,  after  a  ramble  in  the  small  hours, 
which  had  taken  him  past  the  light  in  Hamilton's  study, 
"  I  have  seen  the  man  who  has  made  the  fortune  of  a 
nation,  toiling  all  night  to  supply  his  family  with  bread." 
The  men  found  great  delight  in  each  other's  society. 
Hamilton  was  the  most  accomplished  and  versatile  man  in 
America,  the  most  brilliant  of  conversationists,  the  most 
genial  of  companions,  and  hospitable  of  hosts.  Talleyrand 
epitomized  Europe  to  him  ;  and  the  French  statesman  had 
met  no  one  in  his  crowded  life  who  knew  it  better.  If  he 
gave  to  Hamilton  the  concentrated  essence  of  all  that 
ardent  brain  had  read  and  dreamed  of,  of  all  that  fate  had 
decreed  he  never  should  see  in  the  mass,  Talleyrand 
placed  on  record  his  tribute  to  Hamilton's  unmortal  powers 
of  divination,  and  loved  and  regretted  him  to  the  close  of 
his  life. 

Different  as  the  men  were  in  character,  they  had  two 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  445 

points  in  common,  —  a  passionate  patriotism,  and  the  mem 
ory  of  high  ideals.  Public  life  had  disposed  of  Talley 
rand's  ideals,  and  Hamilton,  after  an  education  in  the 
weakness  and  wickedness  of  human  nature  which  left 
nothing  to  be  desired,  would  have  been  equally  destitute, 
had  it  not  been  for  his  temperamental  gaiety  and  buoyant 
philosophy.  There  were  times  when  these  deserted  him, 
and  he  brooded  in  rayless  depths,  but  his  Celtic  inheri 
tance  and  the  vastness  of  his  intellect  saved  him  from 
despair  until  the  end.  Talleyrand  was  by  no  means  an 
uncheerful  soul ;  but  his  genius,  remarkable  as  it  was, 
flowed  between  narrower  lines,  and  was  unwatered  by  that 
humanity  which  was  Hamilton's  in  such  volume.  Both 
men  had  that  faculty  of  seeing  things  exactly  as  they 
are,  which  the  shallow  call  cynicism ;  and  those  lost  con 
versations  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  the  searcher  after 
truth. 

Jay's  treaty  was  the  most  formidable  question  with 
which  Hamilton  was  called  upon  to  deal  before  the  retire 
ment  of  Washington  to  private  life,  and  it  gave  him  little 
less  trouble  than  if  he  had  remained  in  the  Cabinet. 

It  had  been  his  idea  to  send  a  special  envoy  to  England 
to  remonstrate  with  the  British  Government  for  her  abomi 
nable  oppressions  and  accumulating  outrages,  decide  if 
possible  upon  a  treaty  with  her  which  would  soothe  the 
excitement  in  the  United  States,  —  as  wild  in  the  spring  of 
1794  as  the  Jacobin  fever,  —  and  avert  war.  It  was  the 
desire  of  Washington  and  the  eminent  Federalists  that 
this  mission  be  undertaken  by  Hamilton,  for  he  had 
an  especial  faculty  for  getting  what  he  wanted :  how 
ever  obstinate  he  might  be,  his  diplomacy  was  of  the  first 
order  when  he  chose  to  use  it.  But  he  believed  that, 
having  suggested  the  mission,  he  could  not  with  propriety 
accept  it,  and  that  his  services  could  be  given  more  effec 
tively  in  the  Cabinet.  Moreover,  the  violent  opposition 
which  the  proposal  immediately  raised  among  the  Repub 
licans,  notably  Randolph  and  Monroe,  —  the  latter  so  far 
transcending  etiquette  as  to  write  to  Washington,  denounc 
ing  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  —  made  it  probable  that 


446  THE   CONQUEROR 

his  enemies  would  defeat  his  confirmation  in  the  Senate. 
He  suggested  the  name  of  Chief  Justice  Jay;  and  after  the 
usual  bitter  preliminaries,  that  exalted  but  not  very  forcible 
personage  sailed  for  England  in  the  latter  part  of  April, 
1794.  Negotiations  were  very  slow,  for  Britain  still  felt 
for  us  a  deep  and  sullen  resentment,  nourished  by  our 
Jacobin  enthusiasms.  In  January,  however,  news  came 
that  the  treaty  was  concluded ;  and  Hamilton,  supposing 
that  the  matter  was  settled,  resigned  from  the  Cabinet. 
It  has  been  asserted  that  when  he  read  this  famous  instru 
ment,  he  characterized  it  as  "  an  old  woman's  treaty,"  and 
it  is  very  probable  that  he  did.  Nevertheless,  when,  after 
a  stormy  passage  through  the  Senate,  it  was  launched 
upon  the  country,  and,  systematically  manipulated  by  the 
practised  arts  of  Jacobinism,  carried  the  United  States 
almost  to  the  verge  of  civil  war,  Hamilton  accepted  the 
treaty  as  the  best  obtainable,  and  infinitely  preferable  to 
further  troubles.  He  took  up  his  pen,  having  previously 
been  stoned  while  attempting  to  speak  in  its  defence,  and 
in  a  series  of  papers  signed  "  Catullus,"  wrote  as  even  he 
had  not  done  since  the  days  of  "The  Federalist."  Their 
effect  was  felt  at  once ;  and  as  they  continued  to  issue, 
and  Hamilton's  sway  over  the  public  mind,  his  genius  for 
moulding  opinion,  became  with  each  more  manifest,  Jeffer 
son,  terrified  and  furious,  wrote  to  Madison  :  — 

Hamilton  is  really  a  Colossus  to  the  anti-Republican  party.  Without 
numbers  he  is  a  host  in  himself.  They  have  got  themselves  into  a 
defile  where  they  might  be  finished ;  but  too  much  security  on  the 
Republican  part  will  give  time  to  his  talents  and  indefatigableness  to 
extricate  them.  We  have  had  only  middling  performances  to  oppose 
him.  In  truth  when  he  comes  forward  there  is  no  one  but  yourself  can 
meet  him.  .  .  .  For  God's  sake  take  up  your  pen  and  give  a  funda 
mental  reply  to  "  Curtius  "  and  "  Camillas." 

But  Madison  had  had  enough  of  pen  encounter  with  Ham 
ilton.  "  He  who  puts  himself  on  paper  with  Hamilton  is 
lost,"  Burr  had  said ;  and  Madison  agreed  with  him,  and 
entered  the  lists  no  more.  The  excitement  gradually  sub 
sided.  It  left  ugly  scars  behind  it,  but  once  more  Hamilton 
had  saved  his  party,  and  perhaps  the  Union. 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  447 

In  connection  with  the  much  disputed  authorship  of  the 
Farewell  Address  I  will  merely  quote  a  statement,  hereto 
fore  unpublished,  niadeby  Mrs.  Hamilton,  in  the  year  1840. 

Desiring  that  my  children  shall  be  fully  acquainted  with  the  services 
rendered  by  their  father  to  our  country,  and  the  assistance  rendered  by 
him  to  General  Washington  during  his  administrations,  for  the  one  great 
object,  the  independence  and  stability  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  there  is  one  thing  in  addition  to  the  numerous  proofs  which  I 
leave  them,  and  which  I  feel  myself  in  duty  bound  to  state :  which  is 
that  a  short  time  previous  to  General  Washington's  retiring  from  the 
Presidency,  in  the  year  1796,  General  Hamilton  suggested  to  him  the 
idea  of  delivering  a  farewell  address  to  the  people  on  his  withdrawal 
from  public  life,  with  which  idea  General  Washington  was  well  pleased, 
and  in  his  answer  to  General  Hamilton's  suggestion,  gave  him  the  heads 
of  the  subject  on  which  he  would  wish  to  remark,  with  a  request  that  Mr. 
Hamilton  would  prepare  a  draft  for  him.  Mr.  Hamilton  did  so,  and  the 
address  was  written  principally  at  such  times  as  his  office  was  seldom 
frequented  by  his  clients  and  visitors,  and  during  the  absence  of  his 
students  to  avoid  interruption  ;  at  which  times  he  was  in  the  habit  of  call 
ing  me  to  sit  with  him,  that  he  might  read  to  me  as  he  wrote,  in  order,  as 
he  said,  to  discover  how  it  sounded  upon  the  ear,  and  making  the  re 
mark,  "  My  dear  Eliza,  you  must  be  to  me  what  old  Moliere's  nurse 
was  to  him." 

The  whole  or  nearly  all  the  "address"  was  read  to  me  by  him,  as 
he  wrote  it,  and  the  greater  part  if  not  all  was  written  in  my  presence. 
The  original  was  forwarded  to  General  Washington,  who  approved  of  it 
with  the  exception  of  one  paragraph  ;  of,  I  think,  from  four  to  five  lines, 
which,  if  I  mistake  not,  was  on  the  subject  of  the  public  schools  ;  which 
was  stricken  out.  It  was  aftenvard  returned  to  Mr.  Hamilton  who 
made  the  desired  alteration,  and  was  afterward  delivered  to  General 
Washington,  and  published  in  that  form,  and  has  since  been  known  as 
"  General  Washington's  Farewell  Address."  Shortly  after  the  publication 
of  the  address,  my  husband  and  myself  were  walking  in  Broadway  when 
an  old  soldier  accosted  him  with  the  request  of  him  to  purchase  General 
Washington's  farewell  address,  which  he  did,  and  turning  to  me  said, 
"That  man  does  not  know  he  has  asked  me  to  purchase  my  own  work." 

The  whole  circumstances  are  at  this  moment  so  perfectly  in  my  mind 
that  I  can  call  to  mind  his  bringing  General  Washington's  letter  to  me, 
who  returned  the  address,  and  remarked  on  the  only  alteration  which 
he  (General  Washington)  had  requested  to  be  made. 

New  York,  Aug.  7th,  1840. 

ELIZABETH  HAMILTON. 
JAMES  A.  WASHINGTON. 
JA.  R.  MACDONALD. 

In  1797  Hamilton  was  forced  by  treachery  and  the 
malignancy  of  Jacobinism  into  the  most  painful  and  morti- 


448  THE    CONQUEROR 

fying  act  of  his  public  career.  He  had  been  hailed  by 
certain  enthusiastic  Federalists  as  the  legitimate  successor 
of  Washington.  It  was  a  noble  ambition,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Hamilton  would  have  cherished  it,  had  he  been 
less  of  a  philosopher,  less  in  the  habit  of  regarding  a 
desire  for  the  impossible  as  a  waste  of  time.  Not  only 
were  older  men  in  the  direct  line  of  promotion,  but  he  knew 
that  as  the  author  of  the  Excise  Law  he  was  hated  by  one 
section  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  that  as  the  parent  of  the 
manufacturing  interest,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Assumption 
measure,  he  had  incurred  the  antagonism  of  the  entire  South. 
Lest  these  causes  for  disqualification  be  obscured  by  the 
brilliancy  of  his  reputation,  Jefferson's  unresting  and  rami 
fying  art  had  indelibly  impressed  the  public  mind  with  the 
monarchical-aristocratical  tendencies  and  designs  of  the 
former  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  of  his  hatred  for  a 
beloved  cause  overseas.  Hamilton  had  given  an  absolute 
negative  to  every  suggestion  to  use  his  name;  but  one  at 
least  had  found  its  way  into  print,  and  so  terrified  the 
enemy  that  they  determined  upon  one  more  powerful  blow 
at  his  good  name.  Monroe  had  a  fresh  cause  for  hatred 
in  his  humiliating  recall  from  France,  which  he  ascribed  to 
the  influence  of  Hamilton.  No  doubt  the  trio  were  well 
satisfie  for  a  time  with  their  carefully  considered  scheme. 
The  pamphlet  published  in  1 797,  called  "  The  History  of  the 
United  States  for  1796,"  and  edited  by  a  disreputable  man 
named  Callender,  was  the  concentrated  essence  of  Jacobin 
ical  fury  and  vindictiveness  against  Alexander  Hamilton. 
It  surpassed  any  attack  yet  made  on  him,  while  cleverly 
pretending  to  be  an  arraignment  of  the  entire  Federalist 
party ;  shrieking  so  loudly  at  times  against  Washington, 
Adams,  and  Jay,  that  the  casual  reader  would  overlook  the 
sole  purport  of  the  pamphlet.  "  It  is  ungenerous  to  triumph 
over  the  ruins  of  declining  fame,"  magnanimously  finished 
its  attack  upon  Washington.  "  Upon  this  account  not  a 
word  more  shall  be  said  !  " 

It  omitted  a  recital  of  the  two  Congressional  attacks 
upon  Hamilton's  financial  integrity,  as  to  refrain  from  all 
mention  of  the  vindications  would  have  been  impossible ;  but 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  449 

it  raked  up  everything  else  for  which  it  had  space,  sought 
to  prove  him  a  liar  by  his  defence  of  the  Jay  treaty  in  the 
Camillus  papers,  and  made  him  insult  Washington  in 
language  so  un-Hamiltonian  that  to-day  it  excites  pity 
for  the  desperation  of  the  Virginians.  When  it  finally 
arrived  at  the  pith  and  marrow  of  the  assault,  however,  it 
was  with  quite  an  innocent  air.  This  was  a  carefully  con 
cocted  version  of  the  Reynolds  affair.  Callender  had 
obtained  possession  of  the  papers  which  Monroe,  Muhlen- 
berg,  and  Venable  had  prepared  to  submit  to  the  Presi 
dent,  before  hearing  Hamilton's  explanation.  He  asserted 
that  this  explanation  was  a  lie,  and  that  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  had  not  only  speculated  with  the  public  funds, 
but  that  he  had  made  thirty  thousand  pounds  by  the 
purchase  of  army  certificates.  It  was  also  alleged  that 
Hamilton  ordered  his  name  withdrawn  as  a  Presidential 
candidate,  in  consequence  of  a  threat  that  otherwise  these 
same  papers  would  be  published. 

It  is  a  curious  instance  of  the  fatuity  of  contempo 
raries,  that  Hamilton's  enemies  reckoned  upon  a  sullen 
silence,  in  the  face  of  damning  assault,  from  the  greatest 
fighter  of  his  time.  Indubitably,  they  argued  that  he 
would  think  it  best  to  pass  the  matter  over ;  no  man  could 
be  expected  to  give  to  the  public  the  full  explanation.  But 
they  reckoned  with  an  insufficient  knowledge  of  this  host, 
as  they  had  done  many  a  time  before.  Hamilton  had  no 
desire  to  hold  office  again,  but  he  was  still  the  great 
leader  of  a  great  party,  as  determined  as  ever  that  at  no 
cost  should  there  be  a  stain  on  his  public  honour.  He 
consulted  with  his  closest  friends,  among  them  his  wife. 
As  the  sin  was  now  five  years  old  —  and  the  woman  a 
derelict  —  Mrs.  Hamilton  found  it  easier  to  forgive  than 
an  unconfessed  liaison  with  the  most  remarkable  woman 
of  her  time.  Although  she  anticipated  the  mortification 
of  the  exposure  quite  as  keenly  as  her  husband,  she 
cherished  his  good  name  no  less  tenderly,  and  without 
hesitation  counselled  him  to  give  the  facts  to  the  public. 
This  he  did  in  a  pamphlet  which  expounded  the  workings 
of  the  "Jacobin  Scandal  Club,"  told  the  unpleasant  story 

2G 


450  THE   CONQUEROR 

without  reserve,  and  went  relentlessly  into  the  details  of 
the  part  played  in  it  by  Monroe,  Muhlenberg,  and  Venable. 
He  forced  affidavits  from  those  bewildered  gentlemen, 
the  entire  correspondence  was  published,  and  the  pamphlet 
itself  was  a  masterpiece  of  biting  sarcasm  and  convincing 
statement.  It  made  a  tremendous  sensation,  but  even  his 
enemies  admired  his  courage.  The  question  of  his  financial 
probity  was  settled  for  all  time,  although  the  missile,  fail 
ing  in  one  direction,  quivered  in  the  horrified  brains  of 
many  puritanical  voters.  Mrs.  Reynolds,  now  living  with 
Clingman,  made  no  denial,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  even  she 
would  have  echoed  the  one  animadversion  of  the  discom 
fited  enemy,  —  that  Hamilton  had  given  the  name  of  a 
mistress  to  the  public.  It  is  a  weak  and  dangerous  senti- 
mentalism  which  would  protect  a  woman  of  commerce 
against  the  good  name  of  any  man.  The  financial  settle 
ment  makes  her  a  party  in  a  contract,  nothing  more,  and 
acquits  the  payer  of  all  further  responsibility.  She  has  no 
good  name  to  protect ;  she  has  asked  for  nothing  but  money  ; 
she  is  a  public  character,  whom  to  shield  would  be  a  thank 
less  task.  When  this  Reynolds  woman  added  the  abomina 
tion  of  blackmail  to  her  trade,  and  further  attempted  the 
ruin  of  the  man  who  had  shown  her  nothing  but  generosity 
and  consideration,  it  need  hardly  be  added  that  Hamilton 
would  have  been  a  sentimental  fool  to  have  hesitated  on 
any  ground  but  detestation  of  a  public  scandal. 

He  never  traced  the  betrayal  of  a  secret  which  all  con 
cerned  had  promised  to  keep  inviolate,  but  he  had  his 
suspicions.  Mrs.  Croix,  now  living  in  a  large  house  on 
the  Bowling  Green,  was  the  animated  and  resourceful  centre 
of  Jacobinism.  She  wore  a  red  cap  to  the  theatre  and  a 
tricoloured  cockade  on  the  street.  Her  salon  was  the  head 
quarters  of  the  Republican  leaders,  and  many  a  plot  was 
hatched  in  her  inspiring  presence.  The  Virginian  Junta 
were  far  too  clever  to  put  themselves  in  the  power  of  a 
drunkard  like  Callender,  but  they  were  constantly  in  col 
lusion  with  Mrs.  Croix.  They  knew  that  she  feared  noth 
ing  under  heaven,  and  that  she  had  devoted  herself  to 
Hamilton's  ruin.  Callender  drew  upon  her  for  virus  when- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  451 

ever  his  own  supply  ran  down,  and  would  have  hailed  the 
Reynolds  concoction,  even  had  it  gone  to  him  naked  and 
begging.  Hamilton  saw  the  shadow  of  a  fair  hand  through 
out  the  entire  pamphlet,  and,  indeed,  could  have  traced 
many  an  envenomed  shaft,  since  1793,  to  a  source  which 
once  had  threatened  to  cloy  him  with  its  sweetness. 

Meanwhile  John  Adams  had  been  elected  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  Vice-President. 
Hamilton  had  made  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  he  should 
prefer  to  see  Thomas  Pinckney  succeed  Washington,  for 
he  contemplated  the  possibility  of  Adams  in  the  Executive 
Chair,  with  distrust  and  uneasiness.  In  spite  of  that  emi 
nent  statesman's  intrepidity,  integrity,  and  loyal  Federalism, 
he  was,  in  Hamilton's  opinion,  too  suspicious,  jealous  of 
influence,  and  hot  headed,  to  be  a  safe  leader  in  approach 
ing  storms.  With  Pinckney  as  a  brilliant  and  popular 
figure-head,  Hamilton  well  knew  that  his  own  hand 
would  remain  on  the  helm.  With  the  irascible  old  gentle 
man  from  Massachusetts  in  the  Chair,  his  continued  pre 
dominance  was  by  no  means  certain.  Washington  once 
said  of  Hamilton  that  he  undoubtedly  was  ambitious,  but 
that  his  ambition  was  of  that  laudable  kind  which  prompts 
a  man  to  excel  in  whatever  he  takes  in  hand ;  adding  that 
his  judgement  was  intuitively  great.  The  truth  was  that 
Hamilton  regarded  the  United  States  as  his  child.  He 
had  made  her  wealthy  and  respected,  he  foresaw  a  future 
importance  for  her  equal  to  that  of  any  state  in  Europe. 
"  I  anticipate,"  he  wrote  to  Rufus  King,  "  that  this  country 
will,  ere  long,  assume  an  attitude  correspondent  with  its  great 
destinies  —  majestic,  efficient,  and  operative  of  great  things. 
A  noble  career  lies  before  it."  The  first  of  the  "  Imperial 
ists,"  he  had  striven  for  years  to  awaken  the  Government 
to  the  importance  of  obtaining  possession  of  Louisiana  and 
the  Floridas,  and  he  also  had  his  eye  on  South  America. 
Naturally,  he  wanted  no  interruption ;  the  moment  the 
security  of  the  country  was  threatened,  he  was  as  alert  and 
anxious  as  if  his  nursery  were  menaced  with  an  Indian 
invasion.  Without  conceit  or  vanity  no  man  ever  was  more 
conscious  of  his  great  powers  ;  moreover,  no  American  had 


452  THE  CONQUEROR 

made  such  sacrifices  as  he.  Washington  and  almost  all 
the  leading  men  possessed  independent  fortunes.  Hamil 
ton  had  manifested  his  ability  from  the  first  to  equal  the 
income  of  the  wealthiest,  did  he  give  his  unbroken  ser 
vices  to  the  pursuit  of  his  profession.  But  he  had  lived 
for  years  upon  a  pittance,  frequently  driven  to  borrow 
small  sums  from  his  friends,  that  he  might  devote  his 
energies  entirely  to  his  country.  And  no  man  ever  gave 
more  generously  or  with  less  thought  of  reward  ;  although 
he  would  have  been  the  last  to  deny  his  enjoyment  of 
power.  For  a  born  leader  of  men  to  care  little  whether 
he  had  a  few  trusted  friends  or  an  army  at  his  back,  would 
merely  indicate  a  weak  spot  in  his  brain. 

It  was  quite  natural,  therefore,  that  he  thought  upon 
John  Adams's  idiosyncrasies  with  considerable  disquiet. 
Nevertheless,  with  the  high  priest  of  Jacobinism  in  the 
field,  his  first  object  was  to  secure  the  office  for  the 
Federalist  party.  The  race  was  too  close  for  serious  con- 
sideration  of  any  other  ultimate.  He  counselled  every 
Federalist  to  cast  his  vote  for  Adams  and  Pinckney  ;  better 
a  tie,  with  the  victory  to  Adams,  than  Thomas  Jefferson  at 
the  head  of  the  Nation.  Of  course  there  was  a  hope  that 
Pinckney  might  carry  the  South.  But  the  Adams  enthu 
siasts  dreaded  this  very  issue,  and  threw  away  their  votes 
for  the  Vice-Presidency.  Pinckney's  followers  in  the  South 
pursued  the  same  policy.  The  consequence  was  that  Adams 
won  by  three  votes  only.  Again  his  pride  was  bruised,  and 
again  he  attributed  his  mortification  to  Hamilton.  If  he  had 
disliked  him  before,  his  dislike  in  a  constant  state  of  irrita 
tion  through  the  ascendency  and  fame  of  the  younger  man, 
he  hated  him  now  with  a  bitterness  which  formed  a  danger 
ous  link  between  himself  and  the  Republican  leaders.  The 
time  came  when  he  was  ready  to  humiliate  his  country  and 
ruin  his  own  chance  of  reelection,  to  dethrone  his  rival  from 
another  proud  eminence  and  check  his  upward  course. 
Another  source  of  bitterness  was  Hamilton's  continued  lead 
ership  of  the  Federalist  party,  when  himself,  as  President, 
was  entitled  to  that  distinction.  But  that  party  was  Hamil 
ton's;  he  had  created,  developed  it,  been  its  Captain  through 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  453 

all  its  triumphant  course.  Even  had  he  been  content  to 
resign  his  commission, — which  he  did  not  contemplate  for 
a  moment,  —  the  great  majority  of  the  Federalists  would 
have  forced  it  into  his  hand  again.  Adams  declared  war. 
Hamilton,  always  ready  for  a  fight,  when  no  immediate  act 
of  statesmanship  was  involved,  took  up  the  gauntlet.  Adams 
might  resist  his  influence,  but  the  Cabinet  was  his,  and  so 
were  some  of  the  most  influential  members  of  Congress, 
including  Theodore  Sedgwick  of  Massachusetts,  the  presi 
dent  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate.  It  was  some  time  before 
Adams  realized  the  full  extent  of  this  influence ;  but  when  he 
did  discover  that  his  Secretary  of  State,  Timothy  Pickering, 
his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Oliver  Wolcott,  and  his 
Secretary  of  War,  James  M'Henry,  were  in  the  habit  of 
consulting  Hamilton  upon  every  possible  question  before 
giving  the  President  their  valuable  opinions,  and  that  upon 
one  occasion,  at  least,  a  letter  of  Hamilton's  had  been  incor 
porated  by  the  Secretary  of  War  into  a  Presidential  Message, 
he  was  like  to  die  of  apoplexy.  He  wrote,  in  his  wrath:  — 

Hamilton  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  Senate,  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  of  the  heads  of  departments,  of  General  Washington, 
and  last,  and  least,  if  you  will,  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ! 

But  the  President's  advisers  were  free  to  seek  advice 
without  the  Cabinet  if  they  chose,  and  Washington  had 
encouraged  them  to  go  to  Hamilton.  Hamilton  was  at 
liberty  to  give  it,  and  Adams  could  find  no  evidence  that 
he  had  counselled  rebellion  against  himself ;  nor  that  he 
had  used  his  great  influence  for  any  purpose  but  the  honour 
of  the  country. 

And  never  had  the  country  needed  his  services  more. 
When  Adams,  grim  and  obstinate,  stepped  forward  as  head  of 
the  Nation,  he  found  himself  confronted  with  the  menace  of 
France.  In  retaliation  for  Genet's  disgrace,  the  Revolution 
ists  had  demanded  the  recall  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  whose 
barely  disguised  contempt,  and  protection  of  more  than  one 
royalist,  had  brought  him  perilously  near  to  the  guillotine. 
Burr  had  desired  the  vacant  mission,  and  his  pretensions 
were  urged  by  Monroe  and  Madison.  Washington  recog- 


454  THE   CONQUEROR 

nized  this  as  a  device  of  the  Opposition  to  embarrass  him, 
and  he  had  the  lowest  opinion  of  Burr's  rectitude  and  integ 
rity.  Pressure  and  wrath  produced  no  effect,  but  he  offered 
to  appoint  Monroe.  It  might  be  wise  to  send  a  Jacobin, 
and  the  President  hoped  that  ambition  would  preserve  this 
one  from  compromising  the  country.  He  made  the  mis 
take  of  not  weighing  Monroe's  mental  capacity  more  studi 
ously.  The  least  said  of  the  wild  gallop  into  diplomacy  of 
our  fifth  President  the  better.  He  was  recalled,  and  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney  sent  in  his  place.  The  French,  who 
had  found  Monroe  entirely  to  their  taste,  refused  to  receive 
the  distinguished  lawyer  and  soldier.  To  escape  indignity 
he  was  forced  to  retire  to  Holland.  The  new  Republic 
violated  her  treaties  with  increasing  insolence,  and  Bona 
parte  was  thundering  on  his  triumphant  course.  France 
was  mocking  the  world,  and  in  no  humour  to  listen  to  the 
indignant  protests  of  a  young  and  distant  nation.  To  dis 
member  her  by  fanning  the  spirit  of  Jacobinism,  and,  at  the 
ripe  moment,  —  when  internal  warfare  had  sufficiently  weak 
ened  her,  —  reduce  her  to  a  French  colony,  was  a  plot 
of  which  Hamilton,  Rufus  King,  then  minister  to  England, 
and  other  astute  statesmen  more  than  suspected  her.  But 
although  Hamilton  abhorred  France  and  was  outraged  at 
her  attitude,  the  spirit  of  moderation  which  had  regu 
lated  all  his  acts  in  public  life  suffered  no  fluctuation,  and 
he  immediately  counselled  the  sending  of  a  commission 
to  make  a  final  attempt  before  recourse  to  arms.  War, 
if  inevitable,  but  peace  with  honour  if  possible  ;  it  was  not 
fair  to  disturb  the  prosperity  of  the  young  country  except 
as  a  last  resort.  For  once  he  and  Adams  were  agreed. 
Hamilton  suggested  Jefferson  or  Madison  as  a  sop  to  the 
Revolutionists,  with  two  Federalists  to  keep  him  in  order. 
But  the  President  would  have  his  own  commissioners  or 
none.  He  despatched  Marshall  and  Gerry  and  ordered 
C.  C.  Pinckney  to  join  them.  Talleyrand  refused  them 
official  reception,  and  sent  to  them,  in  secret,  nameless 
minions  —  known  officially,  later  on,  as  X.  Y.  Z.  —  who 
made  shameful  proposals,  largely  consisting  of  inordinate 
demand  for  tribute.  Marshall  and  Pinckney  threw  up  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  455 

commission  in  disgust  The  Opposition  in  Congress  de 
manded  the  correspondence;  and  Adams,  with  his  grimmest 
smile,  sent  it  to  the  Senate.  It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the 
Jacobins,  not  only  the  manner  in  which  France  had  preju 
diced  her  interests  in  this  country;  some  of  the  disclosures 
were  extremely  painful  to  ponder  upon.  "  Perhaps,"  one 
of  the  backstairs  ambassadors  had  remarked,  "you  believe 
that,  in  returning  and  exposing  to  your  countrymen  the 
unreasonableness  of  the  demands  of  this  Government,  you 
will  unite  them  in  resistance  to  those  demands.  You  are 
mistaken.  You  ought  to  know  that  the  diplomatic  skill  of 
France,  and  the  means  she  possesses  in  your  country,  are 
sufficient  to  enable  her,  with  the  French  party  in  America, 
to  throw  the  blame,  which  will  attend  the  rupture,  on  the 
Federalists,  as  you  term  yourselves,  but  the  British  party, 
as  France  terms  you  ;  and  you  may  assure  yourselves  this 
will  be  done."  Jefferson  retired  to  weep  alone.  Several 
of  the  faction  resigned  from  Congress.  Hamilton  pub 
lished  his  pamphlets,  "The  Stand,"  "France,"  and  "The 
Answer,"  and  the  whole  country  burst  into  a  roar  of  ven 
geance,  echoing  Pinckney's  parting  shot :  "  Millions  for  de 
fence,  not  a  cent  for  tribute!"  "Hail  Columbia"  was 
composed,  and  inflamed  the  popular  excitement.  Federalist 
clubs  paraded,  wearing  a  black  cockade,  and  one  street 
riot  followed  another.  Brockholst  Livingston  had  his  nose 
pulled,  and  killed  his  man.  With  the  exception  of  the  ex 
treme  Jacobins,  who  never  swerved  from  their  devotion  to 
France  and  the  principles  she  had  promulgated  with  the 
guillotine,  the  country  was  for  war  to  a  man,  and  the  Presi. 
dent  inundated  with  letters  and  memorials  of  encourage 
ment.  The  immediate  result  was  the  augmentation  of  the 
Federalist  party,  and  the  decline  of  Jacobinism. 

For  a  long  while  past,  Hamilton  had  been  urging  naval 
and  military  'preparations.  A  bold  front,  he  thought, 
would  be  more  effective  than  diplomacy ;  and  the  sequel 
proved  his  wisdom.  When  the  crisis  came  a  bill  for  a  Pro 
visional  Army  was  passed  at  once,  another  for  the  increase 
of  the  Navy,  and  liberal  appropriations  were  made.  The 
proposed  alliance  with  Great  Britain,  Hamilton  effectually 


456  THE   CONQUEROR 

opposed,  for  he  was  almost  as  exasperated  with  England 
as  with  France ;  in  her  fear  that  the  French  party  in  the 
United  States  would  triumph  and  declare  war  upon  her, 
she  had  renewed  her  depredations  upon  our  commerce. 

Few  believed  that  Washington  would  serve  again,  and 
the  Nation  turned  naturally  to  Hamilton  as  its  General- 
in-chief.  He  had  manifestly  been  born  to  extricate  them 
from  difficulties.  Even  the  Presidential  faction  put  their 
pride  in  their  pockets,  and  agreed  that  he  was  the  one  man 
in  the  country  of  matchless  resource  and  military  genius ; 
they  passed  over  the  veterans  of  the  war  without  contro 
versy.  But  there  was  one  man  who  never  put  his  pride  in 
his  pocket,  and  that  was  John  Adams.  Rather  than  pre 
sent  to  Alexander  Hamilton  another  opportunity  for  dis 
tinction  and  power,  he  would  himself  cull  fresh  laurels  for 
George  Washington ;  the  supply  of  his  old  rival  was  now 
so  abundant  that  new  ones  would  add  nothing.  Hamilton 
already  had  written  to  Washington  as  peremptorily  as  only 
he  dared,  urging  that  he  must  come  forth  once  more  and 
without  hesitation.  Washington  replied  that  he  would  as 
cheerfully  go  to  the  tombs  of  his  ancestors,  but  admitted 
the  obligation,  and  asked  Hamilton  would  he  serve  with 
him?  Hamilton  answered  that  he  would  on  condition  that 
he  be  second  in  command  to  himself ;  he  would  make  no 
further  sacrifice  for  an  inconsiderable  reward.  When 
Washington,  therefore,  received  Adams's  invitation,  he  made 
his  acceptance  conditional  upon  being  given  the  power  to 
appoint  his  generals  next  in  rank.  Adams,  meanwhile, 
without  waiting  for  his  answer,  had  sent  his  name  to  the 
Senate,  and  it  had  been  confirmed  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Washington  was  irritated,  but  persisted  in  his  condition, 
and  sent  in  the  names  of  Alexander  Hamilton  for  Inspec 
tor-General,  with  the  rank  of  Major-General,  C.  C.  Pinck- 
ney  and  Knox  for  Major-Generals,  and  a  list  of  Brigadiers 
and  Adjutant-Generals.  Adams,  fuming,  sent  the  names 
to  the  Senate,  and  they  were  confirmed  in  the  order  in  which 
Washington  had  written  them  ;  but  when  they  came  back, 
jealousy  and  temper  mastered  him,  and  he  committed  the 
intemperate  act  which  tolled  the  death-knell  of  the  Federal- 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  457 

ist  party  :  he  ordered  the  commissions  made  out  with  Hamil 
ton's  name  third  on  the  list.  Knox  and  Pinckney,  he  de 
clared,  were  entitled  to  precedence  ;  and  so  the  order  should 
stand  or  not  at  all.  He  had  not  anticipated  an  outcry,  and 
when  it  arose,  angry  and  determined,  he  was  startled  but 
unshaken.  The  leading  men  in  Congress  waited  upon  him ; 
he  received  a  new  deluge  of  letters,  and  the  most  pointed 
of  them  was  from  John  Jay.  Hamilton  alone  held  his 
peace.  He  saw  the  terrible  mistake  Adams  had  made, 
and  dreaded  the  result.  He  wrote  to  Washington  that  he 
should  be  governed  entirely  by  his  wishes,  that  he  should 
not  embarrass  him  in  any  manner,  and  that  it  never  should 
be  said  of  himself  that  his  ambition  or  interest  had  stood  in 
the  way  of  the  public  welfare.  But  when  Adams  stood  with 
his  head  down,  like  an  angry  bull,  and  it  was  plain  to  be 
seen  that  his  astonishing  attitude  was  prompted  by  personal 
hatred  alone,  when  the  Cabinet  and  all  the  eminent  men  in 
the  Nation,  with  the  exception  of  the  Republican  leaders, 
faced  him  with  an  equally  determined  front,  there  was  noth 
ing  for  Hamilton  to  do  but  to  stand  his  ground  ;  and  he  stood 
it.  Washington  put  an  end  to  the  unfortunate  controversy. 
He  gave  Adams  his  choice  between  submission  or  the 
selection  of  another  General-in-chief.  Adams  submitted, 
but  Hamilton  had  in  him  an  enemy  no  less  malignant 
than  Thomas  Jefferson  himself.  Adams  had  roused  the 
deep  implacability  of  Hamilton's  nature.  All  hope  of  even 
an  armed  truce  for  party  advantage  between  the  two  great 
Federalists  was  over.  Hamilton  had  one  cause  for  resent 
ment  which  alone  would  have  made  him  ardently  desire 
retaliation  :  General  Knox,  who  had  loved  him  devotedly 
for  twenty  years,  was  bitterly  alienated,  and  the  breach 
was  never  healed. 

Hamilton  made  his  headquarters  in  New  York,  where 
he  could,  after  a  fashion,  attend  to  his  law  practice,  —  he 
was  now  the  leading  counsel  at  the  bar, — but  he  entered 
upon  his  new  duties  with  all  his  old  spirit  and  passionate 
energy.  Although  France  might  be  discomfited  by  the 
readiness  and  resource  of  the  United  States,  the  imposing 
front  erected  by  a  universal  indignation,  there  were  reasons 


458  THE   CONQUEROR 

which  made  the  reverse  possible;  and  Hamilton  thrilled  with 
all  the  military  ardours  of  his  youth  at  the  prospect  of  real 
izing  those  half-forgotten  ambitions.  He  had,  in  those  days, 
sacrificed  his  burning  desire  for  action  and  glory  to  a  sense 
of  duty  which  had  ruled  him  through  life  like  a  tyrannical 
deity.  Was  he  to  reap  the  reward  at  this  late  hour  ?  finish 
his  life,  perhaps,  as  he  had  planned  to  begin  it  ?  Once 
more  he  felt  a  boundless  gratitude  for  the  best  friend 
a  mortal  ever  made.  Washington  passed  Hamilton  over 
the  heads  of  those  superior  in  military  rank,  because  he 
knew  that  he  alone  was  equal  to  the  great  task  for  which 
himself  was  too  old  and  infirm  ;  but  Hamilton  never  doubted 
that  he  did  it  with  a  deep  sense  of  satisfied  justice  and  of 
gratitude. 

Never  had  Hamilton's  conspicuous  talent  for  detail, 
unlimited  capacity  for  work,  genius  for  creating  some 
thing  out  of  nothing,  marshalled  for  more  active  service 
than  now.  He  withheld  his  personal  supervision  from 
nothing ;  planning  forts,  preparing  codes  of  tactics, 
organizing  a  commissariat  department,  drafting  bills  for 
Congress,  advising  M'Henry  upon  every  point  which 
puzzled  that  unfinished  statesman,  were  but  a  few  of  the 
exercises  demanded  of  the  organizer  of  an  army  from  raw 
material.  The  legislation  upon  one  of  his  bills  finally 
matured  a  pet  project  of  many  years,  the  Military  Acad 
emy  at  West  Point.  Philip  Church,  the  oldest  son  of 
Angelica  Schuyler,  was  his  aide;  John  Church,  after  a 
brilliant  career  as  a  member  of  Parliament,  having  returned 
to  American  citizenship,  his  wife  to  as  powerful  a  position 
as  she  had  held  in  London. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  inform  any  one  who  has  followed 
the  fortunes  of  Hamilton  as  far  as  this  that  he  purposed  to 
command  an  army  of  aggression  as  well  as  defence.  A  war 
with  France  unrolled  infinite  possibilities.  Louisiana  and 
the  Floridas  should  be  seized  as  soon  as  war  was  declared, 
and  he  lent  a  kindly  ear  to  Miranda,  who  was  for  overthrow 
ing  the  inhuman  rule  of  Spain  in  South  America.  "  To 
arrest  the  progress  of  the  revolutionary  doctrines  France 
was  then  propagating  in  those  regions,  and  to  unite  the 


"ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT"  459 

American  hemisphere  in  one  great  society  of  common 
interests  and  common  principles  against  the  corruption, 
the  vices,  the  new  theories  of  Europe,"  was  an  alluring 
prospect  to  a  man  who  had  given  the  broadest  possible 
interpretation  to  the  Constitution,  and  whose  every  con 
ception  had  borne  the  stamp  of  an  imperialistic  boldness 
and  amplitude. 

But  these  last  of  his  dreams  ended  in  national  humilia 
tion.  This  time  he  had  sacrificed  his  private  interests,  his 
vital  forces,  for  worse  than  nothing.  One  enemy  worked 
his  own  ruin,  and  Louisiana  was  to  add  to  the  laurels  of 
Jefferson. 

Talleyrand,  astonished  and  irritated  by  these  warlike 
preparations  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  infant  country, 
wisely  determined  to  withdraw  with  grace  while  there  was 
yet  time.  He  sent  a  circuitous  hint  to  President  Adams 
that  an  envoy  from  the  United  States  would  be  received 
with  proper  respect.  For  months  Adams  had  been  tor 
mented  with  the  vision  of  Hamilton  borne  on  the  shoulders 
of  a  triumphant  army  straight  to  the  Presidential  chair. 
His  Cabinet  were  bitterly  and  uncompromisingly  for  war ; 
Hamilton  had  with  difficulty  restrained  them  in  the  past. 
Adams,  without  giving  them  an  inkling  of  his  intention, 
sent  to  the  Senate  the  name  of  William  Vans  Murray, 
minister  resident  at  The  Hague,  to  confirm  as  envoy 
extraordinary  to  France. 

For  a  moment  the  country  was  stupefied,  so  firm  and 
uncompromising  had  been  the  President's  attitude  hitherto. 
Then  it  arose  in  wrath,  and  his  popularity  was  gone  for  ever. 
As  for  the  Federalist  party,  it  divided  into  two  hostile  fac 
tions,  and  neither  had  ever  faced  the  Republicans  more 
bitterly.  A  third  of  the  party  supported  the  President;  the 
rest  were  for  defeating  him  in  the  Senate,  and  humiliating 
him  in  every  possible  way,  as  he  had  humiliated  the 
country  by  kissing  the  contemptuous  hand  of  France  the 
moment  it  was  half  extended. 

Hamilton  was  furious.  He  had  been  in  mighty  tempers 
in  his  life,  but  this  undignified  and  mortifying  act  of  the 
President  strained  his  statesmanship  to  the  utmost.  It 


46o  THE    CONQUEROR 

stood  the  strain,  however ;  he  warned  the  Federalist  leaders 
that  the  step  taken  was  beyond  recall  and  known  to  all  the 
world.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  support  the  Presi 
dent.  He  still  had  an  opportunity  for  revenge  while  openly 
protecting  the  honour  of  the  Nation.  Did  Murray,  a  man 
of  insufficient  calibre  and  prestige,  go  alone,  he  must  fail ; 
Adams  would  be  disgraced  ;  war  inevitable,  with  glory,  and 
greater  glory,  for  himself.  But  when  circumstances  com 
manded  his  statesmanship,  he  ceased  to  be  an  individual ; 
personal  resentments  slumbered.  He  insisted  that  Murray 
be  but  one  of  a  commission,  and  Adams,  now  cooled  and 
as  disquieted  as  that  indomitable  spirit  could  be,  saw  the 
wisdom  of  the  advice;  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  General 
Davie,  conspicuous  and  influential  men,  were  despatched. 
Once  more  Hamilton  had  saved  his  party  from  immediate 
wreck ;  but  the  strength  which  it  had  gathered  during  the 
war  fever  was  dissipated  by  the  hostile  camps  into  which  it 
was  divided,  and  by  the  matchless  opportunity  which,  in  its 
brief  period  of  numerical  strength,  it  had  given  to  Thomas 
Jefferson. 

The  Federalist  party  had  ruled  the  country  by  virtue  of 
the  preponderance  of  intellect  and  educated  talents  in  its 
ranks,  and  the  masterly  leadership  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 
The  Republican  party  numbered  few  men  of  first-rate 
talents,  but  the  upper  grade  of  the  Federalist  was  set  thick 
with  distinguished  patriots,  all  of  them  leaders,  but  all 
deferring  without  question  to  the  genius  of  their  Captain. 
For  years  the  harmonious  workings  of  their  system,  allied 
to  the  aggregate  ability  of  their  personnel,  and  the  watch 
ful  eye  and  resourceful  mind  of  Hamilton,  the  silent  but 
sympathetic  figure  of  Washington  in  the  background,  had 
enabled  them  to  win  every  hard-fought  battle  in  spite  of 
the  often  superior  numbers  of  the  Opposition.  That  Jef 
ferson  was  able  in  the  face  of  this  victorious  and  discour 
aging  army  to  form  a  great  party  out  of  the  rag-tag  and 
bobtail  element,  animating  his  policy  of  decentralization 
into  a  virile  and  indelible  Americanism,  proved  him  to  be 
a  man  of  genius.  History  shows  us  few  men  so  contemp 
tible  in  character,  so  low  in  tone ;  and  no  man  has  given 


"ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT"  461 

his  biographers  so  difficult  a  task.  But  those  who  despise 
him  most,  who  oppose  the  most  determined  front  to  the 
ultimates  of  his  work,  must  acknowledge  that  formational 
quality  in  his  often  dubious  intellect  which  ranks  him  a 
man  of  genius. 

His  party  was  threatened  with  disorganization  when  the 
shameful  conduct  of  the  France  he  adored  united  the 
country  in  a  demand  for  vengeance,  and  in  admiration  for 
the  uncompromising  attitude  of  the  Government.  Not 
until  the  Federalists,  carried  away  by  the  rapid  recruiting 
to  their  ranks,  passed  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  did  Jef 
ferson  find  ammunition  for  his  next  campaign.  As  one 
reads  those  Resolutions  to-day,  one  wonders  at  the  indiscre 
tion  of  men  who  had  kept  the  blood  out  of  their  heads  dur 
ing  so  many  precarious  years.  Three-quarters  of  a  century 
later  the  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  became  a  law  with  in 
significant  protest ;  the  mistake  of  the  Federalists  lay  in 
ignoring  the  fears  and  raging  jealousies  of  their  time.  If 
Hamilton  realized  at  once  that  Jefferson  would  be  quick  to 
seize  upon  their  apparent  unconstitutionality  and  convert  it 
into  political  capital,  he  seems  to  have  stood  alone,  although 
his  protests  resulted  in  the  modification  of  both  bills. 

Let  us  not  establish  a  tyranny  !  [he  wrote  to  Wolcott] .  Energy  is 
a  very  different  thing  from  violence.  If  we  make  no  false  step  we  shall 
be  essentially  united ;  but  if  we  push  things  to  an  extreme,  we  shall 
then  give  to  faction  body  and  solidity. 

In  their  modified  form  they  were  sufficiently  menacing 
to  democratic  ideals,  and  Jefferson  could  have  asked  for 
nothing  better.  He  immediately  drafted  his  famous  Ken 
tucky  Resolutions,  and  the  obedient  Madison  did  a  like 
service  for  Virginia.  The  Resolutions  of  Madison,  although 
containing  all  the  seeds  of  nullification  and  secession,  are 
tame  indeed  compared  with  the  performance  of  a  man 
who,  enveloped  in  the  friendly  mists  of  anonymity,  was 
as  aggressive  and  valiant  as  Hamilton  on  the  warpath. 
These  Resolutions  protested  against  the  unconstitutionality 
of  the  Federal  Government  in  exiling  foreigners,  and  curb 
ing  the  liberty  of  the  press,  in  arrogating  to  itself  the 


462  THE   CONQUEROR 

rights  of  the  States,  and  assuming  the  prerogatives  of  an 
absolute  monarchy.  If  Jefferson  did  not  advise  nullification, 
he  informed  the  States  of  their  inalienable  rights,  and  coun 
selled  them  to  resist  the  centralizing  tendency  of  the  Fed 
eral  Government  before  it  was  too  late.  Even  in  the 
somewhat  modified  form  in  which  these  Resolutions  passed 
the  Kentucky  legislature,  and  although  rejected  by  the 
States  to  which  they  were  despatched,  they  created  a 
sensation  and  accomplished  their  primary  object.  The 
war  excitement  had  threatened  to  shove  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  laws  beyond  the  range  of  the  public  observation. 
The  Kentucky  and  Virginia  Resolutions  roused  the  coun 
try,  and  sent  the  Republicans  scampering  back  to  their 
watchful  shepherd.  It  is  one  of  the  master-strokes  of 
political  history,  and  Jefferson  culled  the  fruits  and  suf 
fered  none  of  the  odium.  That  these  historic  Resolutions 
contained  the  fecundating  germs  of  the  Civil  War,  is  by 
the  way. 

Such  was  the  situation  on  the  eve  of  1800,  the  eve  of  a 
Presidential  election,  and  of  the  death  struggle  of  the  two 
great  parties. 

It  was  in  December  of  this  year  of  1799  that  Hamilton 
bent  under  the  most  crushing  blow  that  life  had  dealt 
him.  He  was  standing  on  the  street  talking  to  Sedgwick, 
when  a  mounted  courier  dashed  by,  crying  that  Washing 
ton  was  dead.  The  street  was  crowded,  but  Hamilton 
broke  down  and  wept  bitterly.  "America  has  lost  her 
saviour,"  he  said  ;  "  I,  a  father." 


BOOK  V 

THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS 
AND   THE   END 


The  sunlight  moved  along  the  table  and  danced  on 
Hamilton's  papers,  flecking  them  and  slanting  into  his 
eyes.  He  went  to  the  window  to  draw  the  shade,  and 
stood  laughing,  forgetting  the  grave  anxieties  which  ani 
mated  his  pen  this  morning.  In  the  garden  without,  his 
son  Alexander  and  young  Philip  Schuyler,  his  wife's 
orphan  nephew,  who  lived  with  him,  were  pounding  each 
other  vigorously,  while  Philip,  Angelica,  Theodosia  Burr, 
and  Gouverneur  Morris  sat  on  the  fence  and  applauded. 

"  What  a  blessed  provision  for  letting  off  steam,"  he 
thought,  with  some  envy.  "  I  would  I  had  Burr  in  front  of 
my  fists  this  moment.  I  suppose  he  is  nothing  but  the 
dupe  of  Jefferson,  but  he  is  a  terrible  menace,  all  the  same." 

The  girls  saw  him,  and  leaping  from  the  fence  ran  to 
the  house,  followed  more  leisurely  by  Morris. 

"  You  are  loitering,"  exclaimed  Angelica,  triumphantly, 
as  she  entered  the  room  without  ceremony,  followed  by 
Theodosia.  "And  when  you  loiter  you  belong  to  me." 

She  had  grown  tall,  and  was  extremely  thin  and  nervous, 
moving  incessantly.  But  her  face,  whether  stormy,  dreamy, 
or  animated  with  the  pleasure  of  the  moment,  was  very 
beautiful.  Theodosia  Burr  was  a  handsome  intellectual 
girl,  with  a  massive  repose ;  and  the  two  were  much  in 
harmony. 

"  If  I  snatch  a  moment  to  breathe,"  Hamilton  was 
beginning,  when  he  suddenly  caught  two  right  hands  and 
spread  them  open. 

"What  on  earth  does  this  mean?"  he  demanded.     The 
little  paws  of  the  two  most  fastidious  girls  he  knew  were 
dyed  with  ink.     Both  blushed  vividly,  but  Angelica  flung 
back  her  head  with  her  father's  own  action. 
2  H  465 


466  THE    CONQUEROR 

''We  are  writing  a  novel,"  she  said. 

"You  are  doing  what?"  gasped  Hamilton. 

"  Yes,  sir.  All  the  girls  in  New  York  are.  Why 
shouldn't  we  ?  I  guess  we  inherit  brains  enough." 

"  All  the  girls  in  New  York  are  writing  novels !  "  ex 
claimed  Hamilton.  "  Is  this  the  next  result  of  Jacobinism 
and  unbridled  liberty,  the  next  development  of  the  new 
Americanism  as  expounded  by  Thomas  Jefferson  ?  Good 
God  i  What  next  ?  " 

"  You  have  the  prophetic  eye,"  said  Morris,  who  was 
seated  on  the  edge  of  the  table,  grinning  sardonically. 
(He  was  bald  now,  and  looked  more  wicked  than  ever.) 
"What  of  woman  in  the  future?" 

"•"  She  has  given  me  sufficient  occupation  in  the  present," 
replied  Hamilton,  drily.  "  Heaven  preserve  me  from  the 
terrors  of  anticipation."  "  Well,  finish  your  novel.  If  you 
confine  your  pens  to  those  subjects  of  which  you  know 
nothing,  you  will  enjoy  yourselves ;  and  happiness  should 
be  sought  in  all  legitimate  channels.  But  as  a  favour  to 
me,  keep  your  hands  clean." 

The  girls  retired  with  some  hauteur,  and  Morris  said 
impatiently :  — 

"  I-thought  I  had  left  that  sort  of  thing  behind  me  in 
France,  where  Madame  de  Stael  drove  me  mad.  I  return 
to  find  all  the  prettiest  women  running  to  lectures  on  sub 
jects  which  they  never  can  understand,  and  scarifying  the 
men's  nerves  with  pedantic  allusions.  I  always  believed 
that  our  women  were  the  brightest  on  the  planet,  but  that 
they  should  ever  have  the  bad  taste  to  become  intellectual 
—  well,  I  have  known  but  one  woman  who  could  do  it 
successfully,  and  that  is  Mrs.  Croix.  What  has  she  to  do 
with  this  sudden  activity  of  Burr's  ?  Is  he  handling  French 
money? " 

"  Are  you  convinced  that  she  is  a  French  spy  ? " 

"  I  believe  it  so  firmly  that  her  sudden  departure 
would  reconcile  me  to  the  Alien  law.  Where  has  Burr 
found  the  money  for  this  campaign  ?  He  is  bankrupt ;  he 
hasn't  a  friend  among  the  leaders  ;  I  don't  believe  the 
Manhattan  Bank,  for  all  that  he  is  the  father  of  it,  will  let 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  467 

him  handle  a  cent,  and  Jefferson  distrusts  and  despises 
him.  Still,  it  is  just  possible  that  Jefferson  is  using  him, 
knowing  that  the  result  of  the  Presidential  election  will 
turn  on  New  York,  and  that  after  himself  Burr  is  the  best 
politician  in  the  country.  I  doubt  if  he  would  trust  him 
with  a  cent  of  his  own  money,  but  he  may  have  an  under 
standing  with  the  Aspasia  of  Bowling  Green.  Certainly 
she  must  have  the  full  confidence  of  France  by  this  time, 
and  she  is  the  cleverest  Jacobin  in  the  country." 

"  I  wish  that  dark  system  could  be  extirpated,  root  and 
branch,"  said  Hamilton.  "  I  have  been  too  occupied  these 
past  two  years  to  watch  her,  or  Burr  either,  for  that  matter. 
Organizing  an  army,  and  working  for  your  bread  in  spare 
moments,  gives  your  enemies  a  clear  field  for  operations. 
I  have  had  enough  to  do,  watching  Adams.  Burr  has 
stolen  a  march  that  certainly  does  credit  to  his  cunning. 
That  is  the  most  marvellous  faculty  I  know.  He  is  barely 
on  speaking  terms  with  a  leader  —  Jefferson,  Clinton,  the 
Livingstons,  all  turned  their  backs  upon  him  long  since,  as 
a  man  neither  to  be  trusted  nor  used.  The  fraud  by  which 
he  obtained  the  charter  of  the  Manhattan  Bank  has  alien 
ated  so  many  of  his  followers  that  his  entire  ticket  was 
beaten  at  the  last  elections.  Now  he  will  have  himself 
returned  for  the  Assembly  from  Orange,  he  is  manipulating 
the  lower  orders  of  New  York  as  if  they  were  so  much  wax, 
using  their  secrets,  wiping  the  babies'  noses,  and  hanging 
upon  the  words  of  every  carpenter  who  wants  to  talk ;  and 
has  actually  got  Clinton  —  who  has  treated  him  like  a  dog 
for  years  —  to  let  him  use  his  name  as  a  possible  candidate 
for  the  Legislature.  Doubtless  he  may  thank  Mrs.  Croix 
for  that  conquest.  But  his  whole  work  is  marvellous,  and 
I  suppose  it  would  be  well  if  we  had  a  man  on  our  side 
who  would  stoop  to  the  same  dirty  work.  I  should  as 
soon  invite  a  strumpet  to  my  house.  But  I  am  fearful  for 
the  result.  With  this  Legislature  we  should  be  safe.  But 
Burr  has  converted  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  to  a  party 
for  which  he  cares  as  much  as  he  does  for  the  Federal.  If 
he  succeeds,  and  the  next  Legislature  is  Republican,  Jeffer 
son  will  be  the  third  President  of  the  United  States  —  and 


468  THE   CONQUEROR 

then,  God  knows  what.  Not  immediate  disunion,  possibly, 
for  Jefferson  is  cunning  enough  to  mislead  France  for  his 
own  purposes ;  nor  can  he  fail  to  see  that  Jacobinism  is  on 
the  wane  —  but  a  vast  harvest  of  democracy,  of  disintegra 
tion,  and  denationalization,  which  will  work  the  same  dis 
aster  in  the  end.  If  Burr  could  be  taught  that  he  is  being 
made  a  tool  of,  he  might  desist,  for  he  would  work  for  no 
party  without  hope  of  reward.  He  may  ruin  us  and  gain 
nothing." 

"  It  is  a  great  pity  we  have  not  a  few  less  statesmen  in 
our  party  and  a  few  more  politicians.  When  we  began 
life,  only  great  services  were  needed ;  and  the  Opposition, 
being  engaged  in  the  same  battle  of  ideas,  fought  us  with  a 
merely  inferior  variety  of  our  own  weapons.  But  the  great 
est  of  our  work  is  over,  and  the  day  of  the  politician  has 
dawned.  Unfortunately,  the  party  of  this  damned  lag-bel 
lied  Virginian  has  the  monopoly.  Burr  is  the  natural  result 
and  the  proudest  sample  of  the  French  Revolution  and  its 
spawn.  But  your  personal  influence  is  tremendous.  Who 
can  say  how  many  infuscated  minds  you  will  illumine  when 
it  comes  to  speech-making.  Don't  set  your  brow  in  gloom." 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  despairing.  The 
deep  and  never  ceasing  methods  of  the  Jacobin  Scandal 
Club  have  weakened  my  influence  with  the  masses,  how 
ever  ;  no  doubt  of  that.  Its  policy  is  to  iterate  and  reiter 
ate,  pay  no  attention  to  denials,  but  drop  the  same  poison 
daily  until  denial  is  forgotten  and  men's  minds  are  so  ac 
customed  to  the  detraction,  belittling,  or  accusation,  that 
they  accept  it  as  they  accept  the  facts  of  existence.  Jef 
ferson  has  pursued  this  policy  with  my  reputation  for  ten 
years.  During  the  last  eight  he  has  been  ably  abetted 
by  Mrs.  Croix,  his  other  personal  agents,  and  those  of 
France.  Now  they  have  enlisted  Burr,  and  there  is  no 
better  man  for  their  work  in  the  country." 

"  They  know  that  if  you  go,  the  party  follows.  That  is 
their  policy,  and  may  they  spend  the  long  evening  of  time 
in  Hell.  But  I  believe  you  will  be  more  than  a  match  for 
them  yet ;  although  this  is  by  far  the  most  serious  move 
the  enemy  has  made." 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  469 

"  I  wish  to  Heaven  I  had  persisted  in  the  Great  Conven. 
tion  until  I  carried  my  point  in  regard  to  having  the  electors 
chosen  by  the  people  in  districts.  Then  I  should  snap  my 
ringers  at  Burr  in  this  campaign,  for  he  is  an  indifferent 
speaker,  and  political  manipulation  would  count  for  very 
little.  With  C.  C.  Pinckney  in  the  chair  for  eight  years, 
I  should  feel  that  the  country  was  planted  on  reasonably 
sure  foundations.  It  must  be  Adams  and  Pinckney,  of 
course,  but  with  proper  harmony  Pinckney  will  carry  the 
day.  Rather  Jefferson  in  the  chair  than  Adams  —  an 
open  army  that  we  can  fight  with  a  united  front,  than  a 
Federal  dividing  the  ranks,  and  forcing  us  to  uphold  him 
for  the  honour  of  the  party  —  to  say  nothing  of  being 
responsible  for  him/' 

"  Jefferson  is  the  less  of  several  evils  —  Burr,  for  in 
stance." 

"  Oh,  Burr !  "  exclaimed  Hamilton.  "  I  should  be  in  my 
dotage  if  Burr  became  President  of  the  United  States. 
Personally,  I  have  nothing  against  him,  and  he  is  one  of 
the  most  agreeable  and  accomplished  of  men.  Theodosia 
half  lives  here.-  Perhaps  no  man  ever  hated  another  as  I 
hate  Jefferson,  nor  had  such  cause.  He  has  embittered  my 
life  and  ruined  my  health ;  he  has  made  me  feel  like  a  lost 
soul  more  than  once.  But  better  Jefferson  a  thousand 
times  than  Burr.  God  knows  I  hate  democracy  and  fear 
it,  but  Jefferson  is  timid  and  cautious,  and  has  some  prin 
ciples  and  patriotism ;  moreover,  a  desire  for  fame.  Burr 
has  neither  patriotism  nor  a  principle,  nor  the  least  regard 
for  his  good  name.  He  is  bankrupt,  profligate  —  he  has 
been  living  in  the  greatest  extravagance  at  Richmond  Hill, 
and  his  makings  at  the  bar,  although  large,  are  far  exceeded 
by  his  expenses ;  there  is  always  a  story  afloat  about  some 
dark  transaction  of  his,  and  never  disproved  :  he  challenged 
Church  for  talking  openly  about  the  story  that  the  Holland 
Land  Company  had,  for  legislative  services  rendered,  can 
celled  a  bond  against  him  for  twenty  thousand  dollars  ;  but 
the  world  doubts  Burr's  bluster  as  it  doubts  his  word.  At 
present  he  is  in  a  desperate  way  because  Alexander  Baring, 
in  behalf  of  a  friend,  I.  I.  Augustine,  is  pressing  for  pay- 


470  THE   CONQUEROR 

ment  on  a  bond  given  to  secure  the  price  of  land  bought 
by  Burr  and  Greenleaf,  and  he  has  been  offering  worthless 
land  claims  in  settlement,  and  resorting  to  every  artifice  to 
avert  a  crisis.  Baring  wanted  me  to  take  the  case,  but  of 
course  I  wouldn't  touch  it.  I  sent  him  to  Rinnan.  The 
man  is  literally  at  the  end  of  his  tether.  It  is  a  coup  or 
extinction — failure  means  flight  or  debtor's  prison.  Further 
more,  he  is  a  conspirator  by  nature,  and  there  is  no  man  in 
the  country  with  such  extravagant  tastes,  who  is  so  unscru 
pulous  as  to  the  means  of  gratifying  them.  He  is  half  mad 
for  power  and  wealth.  The  reins  of  state  in  his  hands,  and 
he  would  stop  at  nothing  which  might  give  him  control  of 
the  United  States  Treasury.  To  be  President  of  the  United 
States  would  mean  nothing  to  him  except  as  a  highway 
to  empire,  to  unlimited  power  and  plunder.  We  have 
been  threatened  with  many  disasters  since  we  began  our 
career,  but  with  no  such  menace  as  Burr.  But  unless  I 
die  between  now  and  eighteen  hundred  and  one,  Burr  will 
lose  the  great  game,  although  he  may  give  victory  to  the 
Republican  party." 

"  I  am  not  surprised  at  your  estimate  and  revelations," 
said  Morris,  "  for  I  have  heard  much  the  same  from  others 
since  my  return.  It  was  this  certainty  that  he  is  bankrupt 
that  led  me  to  believe  he  was  handling  French  money  in 
this  election  —  and  he  is  flinging  it  right  and  left  in  a 
manner  that  must  gratify  his  aspiring  soul.  Considering 
his  lack  of  fortune  and  family  influence,  he  has  done 
wonders  in  the  way  of  elevating  himself.  This  makes  it 
the  more  remarkable  that  with  his  great  cleverness  he 
should  not  have  done  better  — " 

"  He  is  not  clever ;  that  is  the  point.  He  is  cunning. 
His  is  wholly  the  brain  of  the  conspirator.  Were  he 
clever,  he  would,  like  Thomas  Jefferson,  fool  himself  and 
the  world  into  the  belief  that  he  is  honest.  Intellect  and 
statesmanship  he  holds  in  contempt.  He  would  elevate 
himself  by  the  Catiline  system,  by  the  simple  method  of 
proclaiming  himself  emperor,  and  appropriating  the 
moneybags  of  the  country.  There  is  not  one  act  of 
statesmanship  to  his  credit.  To  him  alone,  of  all  promi- 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  471 

nent  Americans,  the  country  is  indebted  for  nothing.  The 
other  night  at  a  dinner,  by  the  way,  he  toasted  first  the 
French  Revolution,  then  Bonaparte.  It  is  more  than 
possible  that  you  are  right,  for  France,  whether  Directory 
or  Consulate,  is  not  likely  to  change  her  policy  regarding  this 
country.  Nothing  would  please  either  Talleyrand  or  Bona 
parte  better  than  to  inflame  us  into  a  civil  war,  then  swoop 
down  upon  us,  under  the  pretence  of  coming  to  the  rescue. 
Burr  would  be  just  the  man  to  play  into  their  hands,  although 
with  no  such  intention.  Jefferson  is  quite  clever  enough  to 
foil  them,  if  he  found  that  more  to  his  interest.  Well,  neither 
is  elected  yet.  Let  us  hope  for  the  best.  Go  and  ask  An 
gelica  to  play  for  you.  I  have  letters  to  write  to  leaders  all 
over  the  State." 

II 

Burr  was  the  author  of  municipal  corruption  in  New 
York,  the  noble  grandsire  of  Tammany  Hall.  While 
Hamilton  was  too  absorbed  to  watch  him,  he  had  divided 
New  York,  now  a  city  of  sixty  thousand  inhabitants,  into 
districts  and  sections.  Under  his  systematic  management 
the  name  of  every  resident  was  enrolled,  and  his  politics 
ascertained.  Then  Burr  and  his  committees  or  sub 
committees  laid  siege  to  the  individual.  Insignificant  men 
were  given  place,  and  young  fire-eaters,  furious  with  Adams, 
were  swept  in.  Hundreds  of  doubtful  men  were  dined  and 
wined  at  Richmond  Hill,  flattered,  fascinated,  conquered. 
Burr  knew  the  private  history,  the  income,  of  every  man  he 
purposed  to  convert,  and  made  dexterous  use  of  his  infor 
mation.  He  terrified  some  with  his  knowledge,  fawned 
upon  others,  exempted  the  stingy  from  contributions  pro 
vided  he  would  work,  and  the  lazy  from  work  provided  he 
would  pay.  It  is  even  asserted  that  he  blackmailed  the 
women  who  had  trusted  him  on  paper,  and  forced  them  to 
wring  votes  from  their  men.  He  drafted  a  catalogue  of 
names  for  the  electoral  Legislature,  calculated  to  impose 
the  hesitant,  who  were  not  permitted  to  observe  that  he 
smarted  and  snarled  under  many  a  kick.  Strong  names 


472  THE   CONQUEROR 

were  essential  if  the  Republicans  were  to  wrest  New  York 
from  the  Federals  after  twelve  years  of  unbroken  rule,  but 
strong  men  had  long  since  ceased  to  have  aught  to  do  with 
Burr ;  although  Jefferson,  as  Hamilton  suspected,  had 
recently  extended  his  politic  paw.  But  in  spite  of  snubs, 
curt  dismissals,  and  reiterated  intimations  that  his  exer 
tions  were  wasting,  Burr  did  at  last,  by  dint  of  flattery, 
working  upon  the  weak  points  of  the  men  he  thoroughly 
understood,  convincing  them  that  victory  lay  in  his  hands 
and  no  other,  —  some  of  them  that  he  was  working  in  har 
mony  with  Jefferson,  —  induce  Clinton,  Brockholst  Living 
ston,  General  Gates, — each  representing  a  different  faction, 
—  and  nine  other  men  of  little  less  importance,  to  compose 
the  city  ticket.  All  manner  of  Republicans  were  pleased, 
and  many  discontented  Federalists.  Burr,  knowing  that  his 
own  election  in  New  York  was  hopeless,  was  a  candidate 
for  the  Assembly  in  the  obscure  county  of  Orange;  and 
the  Legislature  which  would  elect  the  next  President  was 
threatened  with  a  Republican  majority,  which  alarmed  the 
Federalist  party  from  one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other. 

Hamilton  had  never  been  more  alert.  The  moment  he 
was  awake  to  the  danger  his  mind  closed  to  every  other 
demand  upon  it,  and  he  flung  himself  into  the  thick  of  the 
fight.  He  would  have  none  of  Burr's  methods,  but  he 
spoke  daily,  upon  every  least  occasion,  and  was  ready  to 
consult  at  all  hours  with  the  distracted  leaders  of  his  party. 
Morris,  Troup,  Fish,  and  other  Federalists,  accustomed  to 
handling  the  masses,  also  spoke  repeatedly.  But  Adams 
had  given  the  party  a  terrible  blow,  scattering  many  of  its 
voters  far  and  wide.  They  felt  that  the  country  had  been 
humiliated,  that  it  was  unsafe  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who 
was  too  obstinate  to  be  advised,  and  too  jealous  to  control 
his  personal  hatreds  for  the  good  of  the  Union  ;  the  portent 
of  tyranny  in  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws  had  terrified 
many,  and  the  promises  of  the  Republicans  were  very 
alluring.  The  prospect  of  a  greater  equality,  of  a  universal 
plebeianism,  turned  the  heads  of  the  shopkeepers,  mechanics, 
and  labouring  men,  who  had  voted  hitherto  with  the  Federal 
ist  party  through  admiration  of  its  leaders  and  their  great 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE    GIANTS  473 

achievements.  In  vain  Hamilton  reminded  them  of  all  they 
owed  to  the  Federalists :  the  Constitution,  the  prosperity, 
the  peace.  He  was  in  the  ironical  position  of  defending 
John  Adams.  They  had  made  up  their  minds  before  they 
went  to  hear  him  speak,  and  they  went  because  to  hear 
him  was  a  pleasure  they  never  missed.  Upon  one  occa 
sion  a  man  rushed  from  the  room,  crying,  "  Let  me  out ! 
Let  me  out !  That  man  will  make  me  believe  anything." 
Frequently  Hamilton  and  Burr  spoke  on  the  same  platform, 
and  they  were  so  polite  to  each  other  that  the  audience 
opened  their  mouths  and  wondered  at  the  curious  ways  of 
the  aristocracy.  It  was  a  period  of  great  excitement.  Men 
knocked  each  other  down  daily,  noses  were  pulled,  —  a 
favourite  insult  of  our  ancestors,  —  and  more  than  one  duel 
was  fought  in  the  woods  of  Weehawken. 

The  elections  began  early  on  the  2Qth  of  April 
and  finished  at  sunset  on  May  2d.  Hamilton  and  Burr 
constantly  addressed  large  assemblages.  On  the  first  day 
Hamilton  rode  up  to  the  poll  in  his  district  to  vote,  and 
was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  vociferating  crowd. 
Scurrilous  handbills  were  thrust  in  his  face,  and  his  terri 
fied  horse  reared  before  a  hundred  threatening  fists.  A 
big  carter  forced  his  way  to  its  side  and  begged  Hamilton 
to  leave,  assuring  him  there  was  danger  of  personal  vio 
lence,  and  that  the  men  were  particularly  incensed  at  his 
aristocratic  manner  of  approaching  the  polls. 

"Thank  you,"  said  Hamilton,  "but  I  have  as  good  a 
right  to  vote  as  any  man,  and  I  shall  do  it  in  the  mode 
most  agreeable  to  myself." 

"  Very  well,  General,"  said  the  carter.  "  I  differ  with 
'  you  in  politics,  but  I'll  stick  by  you  as  long  as  there  is  a 
drop  of  blood  in  my  body." 

Hamilton  turned  to  him  with  that  illumination  of  feature 
which  was  not  the  least  of  his  gifts,  then  to  the  mob  with 
the  same  smile,  and  lifted  his  hat  above  a  profound  bow. 
"  I  never  turned  my  back  upon  my  enemy,"  he  said,  "  I 
certainly  shall  not  flee  from  those  who  have  always  been 
my  friends." 

The  crowd  burst  into  an  electrified  roar.     "  Three  cheers 


474  THE   CONQUEROR 

for  General  Hamilton ! "  cried  the  carter,  promptly,  and 
they  responded  as  one  man.  Then  they  lifted  him  from 
his  horse  and  bore  him  on  their  shoulders  to  the  poll.  He 
deposited  his  ballot,  and  after  addressing  them  to  the  sound 
of  incessant  cheering,  was  permitted  to  ride  away.  The 
incident  both  amused  and  disgusted  him,  but  he  needed  no 
further  illustrations  of  the  instability  of  the  common  mind. 

The  Repulicans  won.  On  the  night  of  the  2d  it  was 
known  that  the  Federalists  had  lost  the  city  by  a  Republican 
majority  of  four  hundred  and  ninety  votes. 

A  few  weeks  before,  when  uncertainties  were  thickest, 
Hamilton  had  written  to  William  Smith,  who  was  departing 
for  Constantinople  :  "  .  .  .  You  see  I  am  in  a  humour  to 
laugh.  What  can  we  do  better  in  this  best  of  all  possible 
worlds?  Should  you  ever  be  shut  up  in  the  seven  towers, 
•or  get  the  plague,  if  you  are  a  true  philosopher  you  will 
consider  this  only  as  a  laughing  matter." 

He  laughed  —  though  not  with  the  gaiety  of  his  youth 
—  as  he  walked  home  to-night  through  the  drunken  yelling 
crowds  of  William  Street,  more  than  one  fist  thrust  in  his 
face.  His  son  Philip  was  with  him,  and  his  cousin,  Robert 
Hamilton  of  Grange,  who  had  come  over  two  years  before 
to  enlist  under  the  command  of  the  American  relative  of 
whom  his  family  were  vastly  proud.  A  berth  had  been 
found  for  him  in  the  navy,  as  better  suited  to  his  talents, 
and  he  spent  his  leisure  at  26  Broadway.  Both  the 
younger  men  looked  crestfallen  and  anxious.  Philip,  who 
resembled  his  father  so  closely  that  Morris  called  him 
"his  heir  indubitate,"  looked,  at  the  moment,  the  older 
of  the  two.  Ill  health  had  routed  the  robust  appear 
ance  of  Hamilton's  early  maturity,  and  his  slender  form, 
which  had  lost  none  of  its  activity  or  command,  his  thin 
face,  mobile,  piercing,  fiery,  as  ever,  made  him  appear  many 
years  younger  than  his  age. 

"  Why  do  you  laugh,  sir?"  asked  Philip,  as  they  turned 
into  Wall  Street,  "  I  feel  as  if  the  end  of  the  world  had 
come." 

"  That  is  the  time  to  laugh,  my  dear  boy.  When  you 
see  the  world  you  have  educated  scampering  off  through 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  475 

space,  the  retreat  led  by  the  greatest  rascal  in  the  country, 
your  humour,  if  you  have  any,  is  bound  to  respond.  More 
over,  there  is  always  something  humorous  in  one's  down 
fall,  and  a  certain  relief.  The  worst  is  over." 

"  But,  Cousin  Alexander,"  said  Robert  Hamilton,  "  surely 
this  is  not  ultimate  defeat  for  you  ?  You  will  not  give  up  the 
fight  after  the  first  engagement  —  you!" 

"  Oh,  no !  not  I  !  "  cried  Hamilton.  "  I  shall  fight  on 
until  I  have  made  Thomas  Jefferson  President  of  the 
United  States.  Should  I  not  laugh  ?  Was  any  man  ever 
in  so  ironical  a  situation  before?  I  shall  move  heaven  and 
America  to  put  Pinckney  in  the  chair,  and  I  shall  fail ;  and 
to  save  the  United  States  from  Burr  I  shall  turn  over  the 
country  I  have  made  to  my  bitterest  enemy." 

"  That  would  not  be  my  way  of  doing,  sir,"  said  Robert. 
"I'd  fight  the  rival  chieftain  to  his  death.  Perhaps  this 
Burr  is  not  so  real  a  Catiline  as  you  think  him.  Nobody 
has  a  good  word  for  him,  but  I  mean  he  may  not  have  the 
courage  for  so  dangerous  an  act  as  usurpation." 

"  Courage  is  just  the  one  estimable  if  misdirected  quality 
possessed  by  Burr,  and,  whetted  by  his  desperate  plight, 
no  length  would  daunt  him.  A  year  or  two  ago  he  hinted 
to  me  that  I  had  thrown  away  my  opportunities.  Pressed, 
he  admitted  that  I  was  a  fool  not  to  have  changed  the 
government  when  I  could.  When  I  reminded  him  that 
I  could  only  have  done  such  a  thing  by  turning  traitor,  he 
replied,  '  Les  grands  ames  se  soucient  pen  des  petits 
moraux.'  It  was  not  worth  while  to  reason  with  a  man 
who  had  neither  little  morals  nor  great  ones,  so  I  merely 
replied  that  from  the  genius  and  situation  of  the  country 
the  thing  was  impracticable  ;  and  he  answered,  '  That  de 
pends  on  the  estimate  we  form  of  the  human  passions,  and 
of  the  means  of  influencing  them.'  Burr  would  neither 
regard  a  scheme  of  usurpation  as  visionary,  —  he  is  san 
guine  and  visionary  to  a  degree  that  will  be  his  ruin,  —  nor 
be  restrained  by  any  reluctance  to  occupy  an  infamous 
place  in  history." 

They  had  reached  his  doorstep  in  the  Broadway.  The 
house  was  lighted.  Through  the  open  windows  of  the 


476  THE   CONQUEROR 

drawing-room  poured  a  musical  torrent.  Angelica,  al 
though  but  sixteen,  shook  life  and  soul  from  the  cold  keys 
of  the  piano,  and  was  already  ambitious  to  win  fame  as 
a  composer.  To-night  she  was  playing  extemporaneously, 
and  Hamilton  caught  his  breath.  In  the  music  was  the 
thunder  of  the  hurricane  he  so  often  had  described  to  his 
children,  the  piercing  rattle  of  the  giant  castinets,  the  roar 
and  crash  of  artillery,  the  screaming  of  the  trees,  the  furious 
rush  of  the  rain.  Robert  Hamilton  thought  it  was  a  battle- 
piece,  but  involuntarily  he  lifted  his  hat.  As  the  wonder 
ful  music  finished  with  the  distant  roar  of  the  storm's  last 
revolutions,  Hamilton  turned  to  his  cousin  with  the  cynicism 
gone  from  his  face  and  his  eyes  sparkling  with  pride  and 
happiness. 

"  What  do  I  care  for  Burr  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Or  for 
Jefferson  ?  Has  any  man  ever  had  a  home,  a  family,  like 
mine  ?  Let  them  do  their  worst  Beyond  that  door  they 
cannot  go." 

"  Burr  can  put  a  bullet  into  you,  sir,"  said  Robert 
Hamilton,  soberly.  "And  he  is  just  the  man  to  do  it. 
Jefferson  is  too  great  a  coward.  For  God's  sake  be 
warned  in  time." 

Hamilton  laughed  and  ran  up  the  stoop.  His  wife  was 
in  the  drawing-room  with  Angelica,  who  was  white  and 
excited  after  the  fever  of  composition.  Mrs.  Hamilton, 
too,  was  pale,  for  she  had  heard  the  news.  But  mettle  had 
been  bred  in  her,  and  her  spirits  never  dropped  before 
public  misfortune.  She  had  altered  little  in  the  last  seven 
years.  In  spite  of  her  seven  children  her  figure  was  as 
slim  as  in  her  girlhood,  her  hair  was  as  black,  her  skin  re 
tained  its  old  union  of  amber  and  claret.  The  lingering 
girlishness  in  her  face  had  departed  after  a  memorable 
occasion,  but  her  prettiness  had  gained  in  intellect  and 
character ;  piquant  and  roguish,  at  times,  as  it  still  was. 
It  was  seven  years  since  she  had  applied  her  clever  brain 
to  politics  and  public  affairs  generally  —  finance  excepting 
—  and  with  such  unwearied  persistence  that  Hamilton  had 
never  had  another  excuse  to  seek  companionship  elsewhere. 
Moreover,  she  had  returned  to  her  former  care  of  his 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  477 

papers,  she  encouraged  him  to  read  to  her  whatever  he 
wrote,  and  was  necessary  to  him  in  all  ways.  She  loved 
him  to  the  point  of  idolatry,  but  she  kept  her  eye  on  him, 
nevertheless,  and  he  wandered  no  more.  When  he  could 
not  accompany  her  to  Saratoga  in  summer,  she  sent  the 
children  with  one  of  her  sisters,  and  remained  with  him, 
no  matter  what  the  temperature,  or  the  age  of  a  baby. 
But  she  made  herself  so  charming  that  if  he  suspected  the 
surveillance  he  was  indifferent,  and  grateful  for  her  com 
panionship  and  the  intelligent  quality  of  her  sympathy. 
Elizabeth  Hamilton  never  was  a  brilliant  woman,  but  she 
became  a  remarkably  strong-minded  and  sensible  one. 
Femininely  she  was  always  adorable.  Although  relieved 
of  the  heavier  social  duties  since  the  resignation  from  the 
Cabinet,  Hamilton's  fame  and  the  popularity  of  "both  forced 
them  into  a  prominent  position  in  New  York  society.  They 
entertained  constantly  at  dinner,  and  during  the  past  seven 
years  many  distinguished  men  besides  Talleyrand  had  sat 
at  their  hospitable  board:  Louis  Philippe  d'Orleans, — 
supported  for  several  years  by  Gouverneur  Morris,  —  the 
Due  de  Montpensier,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  John  Singleton 
Copley,  subsequently  so  eminent  as  jurist  and  statesman, 
Kosciusko,  Count  Niemcewicz,  the  novelist,  poet,  dramatist, 
and  historian,  were  but  a  few.  All  travellers  of  distinction 
brought  letters  to  Hamilton,  for,  not  excepting  Washington, 
he  was  to  Europeans  the  most  prosilient  of  Americans.  If 
there  had  been  little  decrease  of  hard  work  during  these 
years,  there  had  been  social  and  domestic  pleasures,  and 
Hamilton  could  live  in  the  one  or  the  other  with  equal 
thoroughness.  He  was  very  proud  of  his  wife's  youthful 
appearance,  and  to-night  he  reproached  her  for  losing  so 
many  hours  of  rest. 

"  Could  anyone  sleep  in  this  racket  ? "  she  demanded, 
lightly.  "  You  must  be  worn  out.  Come  into  the  dining 
room  and  have  supper." 

And  they  all  enjoyed  their  excellent  meal  of  hot  oysters, 
and  dismissed  politics  until  the  morrow. 


478  THE   CONQUEROR 

III 

But  if  Hamilton  consigned  politics  to  oblivion  at  mid 
night  and  slept  for  the  few  hours  demanded  by  outraged 
nature,  he  plunged  from  the  crystal  of  his  bath  into  their 
reeking  blackness  early  in  the  morning.  He  had  laughed 
the  night  before,  but  he  was  in  the  worst  of  tempers 
as  he  shut  his  study  door  behind  him.  For  the  first 
time  in  his  life  he  was  on  a  battle-ground  with  no  sen 
sation  of  joy  in  the  coming  fight.  The  business  was 
too  ugly  and  the  prospect  was  almost  certain  defeat. 
Were  the  first  battle  lost,  he  knew  that  a  sharper  engage 
ment  would  immediately  succeed :  his  political  foresight 
anticipated  the  tie,  and  he  alone  had  a  consummate  know 
ledge  of  the  character  of  Burr.  That  the  Republicans 
would  offer  Burr  the  office  of  Vice-President  was  as  posi 
tive  as  that  Jefferson  would  be  their  first  and  unanimous 
choice.  Clinton  and  Chancellor  Livingston  might  be  more 
distinguished  men  than  the  little  politician,  but  the  first 
was  in  open  opposition  to  Jefferson,  and  the  second  was 
deaf.  Burr's  conquest  of  New  York  entitled  him  to  re 
ward,  and  he  would  accept  it  and  intrigue  with  every 
resource  of  his  cunning  and  address  for  the  larger  number 
of  votes,  regardless  of  the  will  of  the  people.  If  the  result 
were  a  tie,  the  Federals  would  incline  to  anybody  rather 
than  Jefferson,  and  Hamilton  would  be  obliged  to  throw 
into  the  scale  his  great  influence  as  leader  of  his  party  for 
the  benefit  of  the  man  he  would  gladly  have  attached  to  a 
fork  and  set  to  toast  above  the  coals  of  Hell.  He  had  no 
score  to  settle  with  Burr,  but  to  permit  him  to  become 
President  of  the  United  States  would  be  a  crime  for  which 
the  leader  of  the  Federalist  party  would  be  held  respon 
sible.  When  the  inevitable  moment  came  he  should  hand 
over  the  structure  he  had  created  to  the  man  who  had 
desired  to  rend  it  from  gable  to  foundation  ;  both  because 
it  was  the  will  of  the  people  and  because  Jefferson  was 
the  safer  man  of  the  two. 

So  far  his  statesmanship  triumphed,  as  it  had  done  in 
every  crisis  which  he  had  been  called  upon  to  manipulate, 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  479 

and  as  it  would  in  many  more.  But  for  once,  and  as 
regarded  the  first  battle,  it  failed  him,  and  he  made  no  at 
tempt  to  invoke  it.  This  was  the  blackest  period  of  his  inner 
life,  and  there  were  times  when  he  never  expected  to  emerge 
from  its  depths.  The  threatened  loss  of  the  magnificent 
power  he  had  wielded,  the  hatreds  that  possessed  and  over 
whelmed  him,  the  seeming  futility  of  almost  a  lifetime  of 
labour,  sacrifices  without  end  and  prodigal  dispensing  of 
great  gifts,  the  constant  insults  of  his  enemies,  and  the  public 
ingratitude,  had  saturated  his  spirit  with  a  raging  bitterness 
and  roused  the  deadliest  passions  of  his  nature.  The  marah 
he  had  passed  through  while  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  was 
shallow  compared  to  the  depths  in  which  he  almost  stran 
gled  to-day.  Not  only  was  this  the  final  accumulation,  but 
the  inspiring  and  sustaining  affection,  the  circumscribing 
bulwark,  of  Washington  was  gone  from  him.  "He  was 
an  yEgis  very  essential  to  me,"  he  had  said  sadly,  and  he 
felt  his  loss  more  every  day  that  he  lived. 

He  knew  there  was  just  one  chance  to  save  the  Presi 
dency  to  the  Federalist  party.  Did  he  employ  the  magic  of 
his  pen  to  recreate  the  popularity  of  John  Adams,  it  was 
more  than  possible  that  thousands  would  gladly  permit  the 
leader  they  had  followed  for  years  to  persuade  them  they 
had  judged  too  hastily  the  man  of  whom  they  had  expected 
too  much.  But  by  this  time  there  was  one  man  Hamilton 
hated- more  implacably  than  Jefferson,  and  that  was  John 
Adams.  Besides  the  thorough  disapproval  of  the  Admin 
istration  of  Adams,  which,  as  a  statesman,  he  shared  with 
all  the  eminent  Federals  in  the  country,  his  personal  counts 
with  this  enemy  piled  to  heaven.  Adams  had  severed  the 
party  he  had  created,  endeavoured  to  humiliate  him  before 
the  country,  refused,  after  Washington's  death,  to  elevate 
him  to  his  rightful  position  as  General-in-chief  of  the  army 
he  had  organized,  alienated  from  him  one  of  the  best  of 
his  friends,  and  primarily  was  answerable  for  the  crushing 
defeat  of  yesterday.  With  one  of  the  Pinckneys  at  the 
helm,  Hamilton  could  have  defied  Jefferson  and  kept  the 
Democrats  out  of  power ;  but  the  man  next  in  eminence 
to  himself  in  his  own  party  had  given  his  supremacy  its 


480  THE   CONQUEROR 

death-blow,  and  it  is  little  wonder  if  his  depths  resembled 
boiling  pitch,  if  the  heights  of  his  character  had  disap 
peared  from  his  vision.  He  was,  above  all  things,  intensely 
human,  with  all  good  and  all  evil  in  him ;  and  although  he 
conquered  himself  at  no  very  remote  period,  he  felt,  at  the 
present  moment,  like  Lucifer  whirling  through  space. 

Troup,  now  a  retired  judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court 
of  New  York,  and  a  man  of  some  fortune,  ready  as  of  old 
to  be  Hamilton's  faithful  lieutenant,  entered  and  looked 
with  sympathy  and  more  apprehension  at  his  Chief. 

"  I've  not  come  to  bemoan  this  bad  business,"  he  said, 
sitting  down  at  a  desk  and  taking  up  his  pen.  "What 
next?  It  looks  hopeless,  but  of  course  you'll  no  more 
cease  from  effort  than  one  of  your  Scotch  ancestors  would 
have  laid  down  his  arms  if  a  rival  chieftain  had  appeared 
on  the  warpath  with  the  world  at  his  back.  Is  it  Adams 
and  C.  C.  P.  to  the  death  ? " 

"  It  is  Pinckney ;  Adams  only  in  so  far  as  he  is  useful. 
He  still  has  his  following  in  the  New  England  States. 
The  leaders  in  those  States,  first  and  second,  must  be  per- 
suaded  to  work  unanimously  for  Adams  and  Pinckney, 
with  the  distinct  understanding  that  in  other  States  votes 
for  Adams  will  be  thrown  away.  This,  after  I  have  per 
suaded  them  of  Adams's  absolute  unfitness  for  office.  If 
we  carry  and  it  comes  to  a  tie,  there  is  no  doubt  to  whom 
the  House  will  give  the  election." 

Troup  whistled.  "  This  is  politics !  "  he  said.  "  I  never 
believed  you'd  go  down  to  your  neck.  I  wish  you'd  throw 
the  whole  thing  over,  and  retire  to  private  life." 

"  I  shall  retire  soon  enough,"  said  Hamilton,  grimly. 
"  But  Adams  will  go  first." 

Troup  knew  that  it  was  useless  to  remonstrate  further. 
He  had  followed  this  Captain  to  the  bitter  end  too  often. 
Underneath  the  immense  sanity  of  Hamilton's  mind  was 
a  curious  warp  of  obstinacy,  born  of  implacability  and  de 
veloped  far  beyond  the  normal  bounds  of  determination. 
When  this  almost  perverted  faculty  was  in  possession  of 
the  brain,  Hamilton  would  pursue  his  object,  did  every 
guardian  in  his  genius,  from  foresight  to  acuteness,  rise  in 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  481 

warning.  His  present  policy  if  a  failure  might  be  the  death 
of  the  Federalist  party,  but  the  flashing  presentiment  of 
that  historic  disaster  did  not  deter  him  for  a  moment. 

"  It  is  the  time  for  politics,"  Hamilton  continued.  "  States 
manship  goes  begging.  I  shall  be  entirely  frank  about 
it,  for  that  matter.  There  will  be  no  underhand  scheming. 
Adams  is  welcome  to  know  every  step  I  take.  The  corre 
spondence  must  begin  at  once.  I'll  make  out  a  list  for 
you.  I  shall  begin  with  Wolcott." 

IV 

When  the  tidings  of  the  New  York  election  reached 
Philadelphia,  the  Federals  of  the  House  met  in  alarmed 
and  hurried  conference.  In  their  desperation  they  agreed 
to  ask  Hamilton  to  appeal  to  the  Governor  of  New  York, 
John  Jay,  to  reconvene  the  existing  legislature  that  it 
might  enact  a  law  authorizing  in  that  State  the  choice  of 
Presidential  electors  in  districts.  Why  they  did  not  send 
a  memorial  to  Jay  themselves,  instead  of  placing  Hamilton 
in  a  position  to  incur  the  full  odium  of  such  a  suggestion, 
can  only  be  explained  by  the  facts  that  during  the  entire 
span  of  the  party's  existence,  their  leader  had  cheerfully 
assumed  the  responsibility  in  every  emergency  or  crisis,  and 
that  if  the  distinguished  formalist  in  the  Executive  Mansion 
of  New  York  had  a  weak  spot  in  him,  it  was  for  Hamilton. 

When  Hamilton  read  this  portentous  letter,  he  flushed 
deeply  and  then  turned  white.  The  expedient  had  not 
occurred  to  him,  but  it  was  too  near  of  kin  to  his  disap 
proval  of  a  provision  which  had  delivered  the  State  into 
the  hands  of  an  industrious  rascal,  not  to  strike  an  imme 
diate  response  ;  especially  in  his  present  frame  of  mind. 
He  was  alone  with  his  wife  at  the  moment,  and  he  handed 
her  the  letter.  She  read  it  twice,  then  laid  it  on  the  table. 
"  It  savours  very  much  of  fraud,  to  me,"  she  said.  "  Why 
do  politics  so  often  go  to  the  head  ? " 

"  Sometimes  one  sort  rises  as  an  antidote  to  another. 
There  comes  a  time  in  human  affairs  when  one  is  forced 
into  a  position  of  choosing  between  two  evils;  a  time  when 
21 


482  THE   CONQUEROR 

the  scruples  of  delicacy  and  propriety,  as  relative  to  a  com 
mon  course  of  things,  ought  to  yield  to  the  extraordinary 
nature  of  the  crisis." 

"  Right  is  right,  and  wrong  is  wrong,"  said  Betsey,  with 
her  Dutch  sturdiness.  "This  measure  —  were  it  adopted 
by  Mr.  Jay — would  merely  mean  that  the  party  in  power 
was  taking  an  unconstitutional  advantage  of  its  situation 
to  nullify  the  victories  gained  by  the  other." 

"  The  victories  you  speak  of  were  won  by  fraud  and 
every  unworthy  device.  I  am  not  arguing  that,  such  be 
ing  the  case,  we  are  justified  in  turning  their  weapons 
upon  them,  but  that  for  the  good  of  the  country  the  enemy 
should  be  suppressed  before  they  are  able  to  accomplish 
its  demoralization,  if  not  its  ruin.  The  triumph  of  Jeffer 
son  and  Jacobinism,  the  flourishing  of  Democracy  upon  the 
ruins  of  Federalism,  too  long  a  taste  of  power  by  the  States 
rights  fanatics,  means,  with  the  weak  spots  in  our  Consti 
tution,  civil  war.  Burr  has  sowed  the  seeds  of  municipal 
corruption,  which,  if  the  sower  be  rewarded  by  the  second 
office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  will  spread  all  over  the 
Union.  That  many  in  the  ranks  of  Democracy  are  in  the 
pay  of  France,  and  design  the  overthrow  of  the  Govern 
ment,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt.  If  Jefferson  should 
die  in  office,  or  a  tie,  in  spite  of  all  I  could  do,  should  give 
the  Presidency  to  Burr,  there  is  nothing  that  man's  desper 
ate  temper  would  not  drive  him  to  accomplish  during  the 
time  remaining  to  him — for  he  will  never  be  the  first 
choice  of  the  Democrats.  Therefore,  I  shall  propose  this 
measure  to  Jay  in  the  course  of  the  next  two  or  three  days, 
unless  upon  mature  deliberation  I  alter  my  present  opinion 
that  the  grave  crisis  in  national  affairs  justifies  it,  or  I  con 
ceive  something  better." 

"  You  will  violate  your  higher  principles,"  said  his  wife, 
who  had  matured  in  a  previous  era.  "And  it  will  be  a 
terrible  weapon  for  your  enemies." 

"  I  have  now  reached  that  happy  point  where  I  am 
entirely  indifferent  to  the  broadsides  of  my  enemies ;  and 
I  believe  that  if  I  conclude  to  take  this  step,  my  conscience 
—  and  history  —  will  justify  me." 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  483 

"  If  you  succeed,"  said  Betsey,  shrewdly.  "  But  Mr. 
Jay  is  very  rigid,  and  he  lacks  your  imagination,  your 
terrible  gift  of  seeing  the  future  in  a  flash." 

"  It  is  quite  true  that  I  have  little  hope  of  persuading 
Jay ;  as  little  as  I  have  of  endowing  him  with  the  gift  of 
foresight.  But,  if  I  think  best,  I  shall  make  the  attempt, 
and  whatever  the  consequences,  I  shall  not  regret  it." 

Betsey  said  no  more.  She  knew  the  exact  amount  of 
remonstrance  Hamilton  would  stand,  and  she  never  ex 
ceeded  it.  When  his  fighting  armour  was  on,  no  human 
being  could  influence  him  beyond  a  certain  point,  and  she 
was  too  wise  to  risk  her  happiness.  Although  he  was 
too  careful  of  her  to  let  her  suspect  the  hideous  conflicts 
which  raged  in  his  soul,  she  was  fully  aware  of  his  bitter 
obstinacy,  and  that  he  was  the  best  hater  in  the  country. 
She  had  many  gloomy  forebodings,  for  she  anticipated  the 
terrible  strain  on  what  was  left  of  his  constitution. 

There  was  one  person  who,  through  her  inherited  intui 
tions,  understood  Hamilton,  and  that  was  Angelica.  He 
had  kept  her  at  arm's  length,  great  as  the  temptation  to 
have  a  sympathetic  confidant  had  been,  particularly  after 
he  had  withdrawn  from  the  intimate  companionship  of 
Washington ;  she  was  so  highly  wrought  and  sensitive, 
so  prone  to  hysteria,  that  he  had  never  yielded  for  a 
moment,  even  when  she  turned  her  head  slowly  toward 
him  and  stared  at  him  with  eyes  that  read  his  very  soul. 
On  the  evening  after  the  elections  he  had  played  and  sung 
with  her  for  an  hour,  then  talked  for  another  with  Philip, 
who  was  the  most  promising  student  of  Columbia  College, 
a  youth  of  fine  endowments  and  elevated  character.  He 
was  the  pride  and  delight  of  Hamilton,  who  could  throttle 
both  apprehensions  and  demons  while  discussing  his  son's 
future,  and  listening  to  his  college  trials  and  triumphs. 
Upon  this  particular  evening  Angelica  had  suddenly  burst 
into  tears  and  left  the  room.  The  next  morning  Hamilton 
sent  her  to  Saratoga ;  and,  much  as  he  loved  her,  it  was 
with  profound  relief  that  he  arranged  her  comfortably  on 
the  deck  of  the  packet-boat. 

On  the  /th  he  wrote  to  the  Governor;  but,  as  he  had 


484  THE   CONQUEROR 

feared,  Jay  would  take  no  such  audacious  leap  out  of 
his  straight  and  narrow  way.  The  letter  was  published  in 
the  Aurora  before  it  reached  Albany,  and  Hamilton  had 
reason  to  believe  that  Burr  had  a  spy  in  the  post-office. 

Hamilton  executed  the  orders  for  disbanding  the  army, 
then  made  a  tour  of  several  of  the  New  England  States, 
holding  conferences  and  speaking  continually.  He  found 
the  first-class  leaders  at  one  with  him  as  to  the  danger  of 
entrusting  the  Executive  office  to  Adams  a  second  time, 
and  favourably  inclined  to  Pinckney.  But  the  second-rate 
men  of  influence  were  still  enthusiastic  for  the  President, 
and  extolling  him  for  saving  the  country  from  war.  Ham 
ilton  listened  to  them  with  no  attempt  to  conceal  his  impa 
tience.  He  pointed  out  that  if  Talleyrand  had  made  up 
his  mind  that  it  was  best  to  avoid  a  war,  he  would  have 
made  a  second  and  regular  overture,  which  could  have  been 
accepted  without  humiliation  to  the  country,  and  the  sever 
ance  of  the  Federalist  party. 

As  if  Adams  had  not  done  enough  to  rouse  the  deadly 
wrath  of  Hamilton,  he  announced  right  and  left  that  the 
Federalist  defeat  in  New  York  had  been  planned  by  his 
arch  enemy,  with  the  sole  purpose  of  driving  himself  from 
office ;  that  there  was  a  British  faction  in  the  country 
and  that  Hamilton  was  its  chief.  He  drove  Pickering  and 
M'Henry  from  his  Cabinet  with  contumely,  as  the  only 
immediate  retaliation  he  could  think  of,  and  Wolcott 
would  have  followed,  had  there  been  anyone  to  take  his 
place.  Franklin  once  said  of  Adams  that  he  was  always 
honest,  sometimes  great,  and  often  mad.  Probably  so 
large  an  amount  of  truth  has  never  again  been  condensed 
into  an  epigram.  If  Adams  had  not  become  inflamed  with 
the  ambition  that  has  ruined  the  lives  and  characters  of 
so  many  Americans,  he  would  have  come  down  to  poster 
ity  as  a  great  man,  with  a  record  of  services  to  his  country 
which  would  have  scattered  his  few  mistakes  into  the 
unswept  corners  of  oblivion.  But  autocratic,  irritable, 
and  jealous,  all  the  infirmities  of  his  temper  as  brittle  with 
years  as  the  blood-vessels  of  his  brain,  the  most  exact 
ing  office  in  the  civilized  world  taxed  him  too  heavily.  It 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  485 

is  interesting  to  speculate  upon  what  he  might  have  been 
in  this  final  trial  of  his  public  career,  had  Hamilton  died 
as  he  took  the  helm  of  State.  If  Hamilton's  enemies  very 
nearly  ruined  his  own  character,  there  is  no  denying  that  he 
exerted  an  almost  malign  influence  upon  them.  To  those 
he  loved  or  who  appealed  to  the  highest  in  him  he  gave 
not  only  strength,  but  an  abundance  of  sweetness  and  light, 
illuminating  mind  and  spirit,  and  inspiring  an  affection 
that  was  both  unselfish  and  uplifting.  But  his  enemies 
hated  him  so  frantically  that  their  characters  measurably 
deteriorated ;  to  ruin  or  even  disconcert  him  they  stooped 
and  intrigued  and  lied ;  they  were  betrayed  into  public  acts 
which  lowered  them  in  their  own  eyes  and  in  those  of  all 
students  of  history.  Other  hatreds  were  healthy  and  stim 
ulating  by  comparison ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  Adams, 
Jefferson,  and  Madison  fell  far  lower  than  they  would  have 
done  had  Hamilton  never  shot  into  the  American  heavens, 
holding  their  fields  at  his  pleasure,  and  paling  the  fires  of 
large  and  ambitious  stars. 

The  political  excitement  in  the  country  by  this  time  sur 
passed  every  previous  convulsion  to  such  an  extent  that 
no  man  prominent  in  the  contest  could  appear  on  the 
street  without  insult.  Although  he  never  knew  it,  Hamil 
ton,  every  time  he  left  the  house,  was  shadowed  by  his  son 
Philip,  Robert  Hamilton,  Troup,  John  Church,  or  Philip 
Church.  For  the  Democratic  ammunition  and  public 
fury  alike  were  centred  on  Hamilton.  Adams  came  in 
for  his  share,  but  the  Democrats  regarded  his  doom  as 
sealed,  and  Hamilton,  as  ever,  the  Colossus  to  be  destroyed. 
The  windows  of  the  bookshops  were  filled  with  pamphlets, 
lampoons,  and  cartoons.  The  changes  were  rung  on  the 
aristocratical  temper  and  the  monarchical  designs  of 
the  leader  of  the  Federalists,  until  Hamilton  was  sick  of 
the  sight  of  himself  with  his  nose  in  the  air  and  a  crown 
on  his  head,  his  train  borne  by  Jay,  Cabot,  Sedgwick,  and 
Bayard.  The  people  were  warned  in  every  issue  of 
the  Aurora,  Chronicle,  and  other  industrious  sheets,  that 
Hamilton  was  intriguing  to  drive  the  Democratic  States 
to  secession,  that  he  might  annihilate  them  at  once  with 


486  THE   CONQUEROR 

his  army  and  his  navy.  The  Reynolds  affair  was  retold 
once  a  week,  with  degrading  variations,  and  there  was  no 
doubt  that  spies  were  nosing  the  ground  in  every  direction 
to  obtain  evidence  of  another  scandal  to  vary  the  monot 
ony.  Mrs.  Croix,  being  Queen  of  the  Jacobins,  was  safe, 
so  press  and  pamphlet  indulged  in  wild  generalities  of 
debauchery  and  rapine.  It  must  be  confessed  that  Jeffer 
son  fared  no  better  in  the  Federalist  sheets.  He  was  a  huge 
and  hideous  spider,  spinning  in  a  web  full  of  seduced  citi 
zens  ;  he  meditated  a  resort  to  arms,  did  he  lose  the  elec 
tion.  As  to  his  private  vices,  they  saddled  him  with  an 
entire  harem,  and  a  black  one  at  that. 

When  Hamilton  heard  that  Adams  had  asserted  that  he 
was  the  chief  of  a  British  faction,  he  wrote  to  the  Presi 
dent,  demanding  an  explanation  ;  and  his  note  had  that 
brief  and  frigid  courtesy  which  indicated  that  he  was  in 
his  most  dangerous  temper.  Adams  ignored  it.  Hamil 
ton  waited  a  reasonable  time,  then  wrote  again  ;  but  Adams 
was  now  too  infuriated  to  care  whether  or  not  he  com 
mitted  the  unpardonable  error  of  insulting  the  most  dis 
tinguished  man  in  the  country.  He  was  in  a  humour  to 
insult  the  shade  of  Washington,  and  he  delighted  in  every 
opportunity  to  wreak  vengeance  on  Hamilton,  and  would 
have  died  by  his  hand  rather  than  placate  him. 

Then  Hamilton  took  the  step  he  had  meditated  for  some 
time  past,  one  which  had  received  the  cordial  sanction  of 
Wolcott,  and  the  uneasy  and  grudging  acquiescence  of 
Cabot,  Ames,  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Bayard,  and  a  few 
other  devoted  but  conservative  supporters.  He  wrote,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  second-class  leaders,  who  must  be  per 
suaded  to  cast  their  votes  for  Pinckney,  to  vindicate  Picker 
ing  and  M' Henry,  and  —  it  would  be  foolish  to  ignore  it  — 
to  gratify  his  deep  personal  hatred,  the  pamphlet  called 
"The  Public  Conduct  and  Character  of  John  Adams,  Esq., 
President  of  the  United  States."  His  temper  did  not  flash 
in  it  for  a  second.  It  was  written  in  his  most  concise  and 
pointed,  his  most  lucid  and  classic,  manner ;  and  nothing 
so  damning  ever  flowed  from  mortal  brain.  He  set  forth 
all  Adams's  virtues  and  services  with  judicial  impartiality. 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  487 

There  they  were  for  all  to  read.  Let  no  man  forget  them. 
Then  he  counterbalanced  and  overbalanced  them  by  the 
weaknesses,  jealousies,  and  other  temperamental  defects 
which  had  arisen  in  evidence  with  the  beginnings  of  the 
President's  public  career.  He  drilled  holes  in  poor  Adams's 
intellect  which  proved  its  unsoundness  and  its  unfitness 
for  public  duty,  and  he  lashed  him  without  mercy  for  his 
public  mistakes  and  for  his  treatment  of  his  Secretaries 
and  himself.  It  was  a  life  history  on  ivory,  and  a  master 
piece  ;  and  there  is  no  friend  of  Hamilton's  who  would  not 
sacrifice  the  memory  of  one  of  his  greatest  victories  for 
the  privilege  of  unwriting  it. 

This  was  one  of  his  creations  that  he  did  not  read  to 
his  wife,  but  Troup  was  permitted  a  glance  at  the  manu 
script.  He  dropped  it  to  the  floor,  and  his  face  turned 
white.  "Do  you  intend  to  publish  this  thing?"  he  de 
manded.  "  And  with  your  name  signed  in  full  ?  " 

"  I  intend  to  print  it.  I  had  every  intention  of  scatter 
ing  it  broadcast,  but  I  have  yielded  to  the  dissuasions  of 
men  whose  opinions  I  am  bound  to  respect,  and  it  will  go 
only  to  them  and  to  the  second-class  leaders  as  yet  uncon 
vinced.  To  their  entreaties  that  I  would  not  sign  my  name 
I  have  not  listened,  because  such  a  work,  if  anonymous, 
would  be  both  cowardly  and  futile.  The  point  is  to  let 
those  for  whom  it  is  intended  know  that  a  person  in  au 
thority  is  talking ;  and  anonymous  performances  are  legiti 
mate  only  when  published  and  unmistakable,  when  given 
in  that  form  as  a  concession  to  the  fashion  of  the  age." 

Troup  groaned.  "  And  if  it  falls  into  the  enemy's 
hands  ? " 

"  In  that  case,  what  a  hideous  opportunity  it  would  en 
close,  were  it  unsigned." 

"  Oh,  sign  it !  "  said  Troup,  wildly.  He  set  his  heel  on 
the  manuscript,  and  looked  tentatively  at  Hamilton.  He 
knew  the  meaning  of  the  expression  he  encountered,  and 
removed  his  heel.  It  was  months  since  he  had  seen  the 
gay  sparkle  in  Hamilton's  eyes,  humour  and  sweetness 
curving  his  mouth.  When  Hamilton's  mouth  was  not  as 
hard  as  iron,  it  relaxed  to  cynicism  or  contempt.  He  was 


488  THE  CONQUEROR 

so  thin  that  the  prominence  of  the  long  line  from  ear 
to  chin  and  of  the  high  hard  nose,  with  its  almost  rigid 
nostrils,  would  have  made  him  look  more  old  Roman  coin 
than  man,  had  it  not  been  for  eyes  like  molten  steel. 
"  Politics  and  ambition  !  "  thought  Troup.  "  What  might 
not  the  world  be  without  them  ? " 

"Let  us  change  the  subject,"  he  said.  "I  hear  that 
Mrs.  Croix  makes  a  convert  an  hour  from  Federalism  to 
Democracy.  That  is  the  estimate.  And  a  small  and  select 
band  know  that  she  does  it  in  the  hope  of  hastening  your 
ruin.  I  must  say,  Hamilton,  that  as  far  as  women  are 
concerned,  you  are  punished  far  beyond  your  deserts. 
There  is  hardly  a  man  in  public  life  who  has  not  done  as 
much,  or  worse,  but  the  world  is  remarkably  uninterested, 
and  the  press  finds  any  other  news  more  thrilling.  The 
Reynolds  woman  is  probably  responsible  for  many  remorse 
ful  twinges  in  the  breasts  of  eminent  patriots,  but  your 
name  alone  is  given  to  the  public.  As  for  Mrs.  Croix,  I 
don't  suppose  that  any  mere  mortal  has  ever  resisted  her, 
but  if  any  other  man  has  regretted  it,  history  is  silent. 
What  do  you  suppose  is  the  reason  ? " 

Hamilton  would  not  discuss  Mrs.  Croix,  but  he  had 
long  since  ceased  to  waste  breath  in  denial.  He  made  no 
reply. 

"Do  you  know  my  theory?"  said  Troup,  turning  upon 
him  suddenly.  "  It  is  this.  You  are  so  greatly  endowed 
that  more  is  expected  of  you  than  of  other  men.  You  were 
fashioned  to  make  history ;  to  give  birth,  not  for  your  own 
personal  good,  but  for  the  highest  good  of  a  nation,  to  the 
greatest  achievement  of  which  the  human  mind  is  capable. 
Therefore,  when  you  trip  and  stumble  like  any  fool  among 
us,  when  you  act  like  a  mere  mortal  with  no  gigantic  will 
and  intellect  to  lift  him  to  the  heights  and  keep  him  there, 
some  power  in  the  unseen  universe  is  infuriated,  and  you 
pay  the  price  with  compound  interest.  It  will  be  the  same 
with  that  thing  on  the  floor.  If  you  could  be  sure  that  it 
would  never  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  Jacobin,  even  then  it 
would  be  a  mistake  to  print  it,  for  it  is  mainly  prompted 
by  hatred,  and  as  such  is  unworthy  of  you.  But  if  it  finds 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE  GIANTS  489 

its  way  to  the  public,  your  punishment  will  be  even  in 
excess  of  your  fault.  For  God's  sake  think  it  over." 

Hamilton  made  no  reply,  and  in  a  moment  Troup  rose. 
"Very  well,"  he  said,  "  have  your  own  way  and  be  happy. 
I'll  stand  by  you  if  the  citadel  falls." 

Hamilton's  eyes  softened,  and  he  shook  Troup's  hands 
heartily.  But  as  soon  as  he  was  alone,  he  sent  the  manu 
script  to  the  printer. 

V 

M.  L.  Davis,  the  authentic  biographer  of  Burr,  tells  this 
interesting  anecdote  concerning  the  Adams  pamphlet :  — 

Colonel  Burr  ascertained  the  contents  of  this  pamphlet,  and  that 
it  was  in  the  press.  The  immediate  publication,  he  knew,  must  dis 
tract  the  Federal  party,  and  thus  promote  the  Republican  cause  in  those 
States  where  the  elections  had  not  taken  place.  Arrangements  were 
accordingly  made  for  a  copy  as  soon  as  the  printing  of  it  was  completed  ; 
and  when  obtained,  John  Swartwout,  Robert  Swartwout,  and  Matthew 
L.  Davis,  by  appointment  met  Colonel  Burr  at  his  house.  The  pam 
phlet  was  read,  and  extracts  made  for  the  press.  They  were  immediately 
published. 

When  Hamilton  read  the  voluminous  extracts  in  the 
marked  copies  of  the  Democratic  papers  which  he  found 
on  the  table  in  his  chambers  in  Garden  Street,  his  first 
sensation  was  relief ;  subterranean  methods  were  little  to 
his  liking.  He  was  deeply  uneasy,  however,  when  he  re 
flected  upon  the  inevitable  consequences  to  his  party,  and 
wondered  that  his  imagination  for  once  had  failed  him. 
Everyone  who  has  written  with  sufficient  power  to  incite 
antagonism,  knows  the  apprehensive  effect  of  extracts 
lifted  maliciously  from  a  carefully  wrought  whole.  Ham 
ilton  felt  like  a  criminal  until  he  plunged  into  the  day's 
work,  when  he  had  no  time  for  an  accounting  with  his 
conscience.  He  was  in  court  all  day,  and  after  the  five 
o'clock  dinner  at  home,  returned  to  his  office  and  worked 
on  an  important  brief  until  eight.  Then  he  paid  a  short 
call  on  a  client,  and  was  returning  home  through  Pearl 
Street,  when  he  saw  Troup  bearing  down  upon  him.  This 
old  comrade's  face  was  haggard  and  set,  and  his  eyes  were 


490  THE   CONQUEROR 

almost  wild.  Hamilton  smiled  grimly.  That  expression 
had  stamped  the  Federal  visage  since  morning. 

Troup  reached  Hamilton  in  three  strides,  and  seizing 
him  by  the  arm,  pointed  to  the  upper  story  of  Fraunces' 
Tavern.  "  Alec,"  he  said  hoarsely,  "  do  you  remember 
the  vow  you  made  in  that  room  twenty-five  years  ago  ? 
You  have  kept  it  until  to-day.  There  is  not  an  instance  in 
your  previous  career  where  you  have  sacrificed  the  coun 
try  to  yourself.  No  man  in  history  ever  made  greater  sac 
rifices,  and  no  man  has  had  a  greater  reward  in  the  love 
and  loyalty  of  the  best  men  in  a  nation.  And  now,  to  grat 
ify  the  worst  of  your  passions,  you  have  betrayed  your 
country  into  the  hands  of  the  basest  politicians  in  it. 
Moreover,  all  your  enemies  could  not  drag  you  down,  and 
no  man  in  history  has  ever  been  assailed  by  greater  pha 
lanxes  than  you  have  been.  It  took  you  —  yourself  —  to 
work  your  own  ruin,  to  pull  your  party  down  on  top  of  you, 
and  send  the  country  we  have  all  worked  so  hard  for  to 
the  devil.  I  love  you  better  than  anyone  on  earth,  and  I'll 
stick  to  you  till  the  bitter  end,  but  I'd  have  this  say  if  you 
never  spoke  to  .me  again." 

Hamilton  dropped  his  eyes  from  the  light  in  the  familiar 
room  of  Fraunces'  Tavern,  but  the  abyss  he  seemed  to  see 
at  his  feet  was  not  the  one  yawning  before  his  friend's 
excited  imagination.  He  did  not  answer  for  a  moment, 
and  then  he  almost  took  away  what  was  left  of  Troup's 
breath. 

"You  are  quite  right,"  he  said.  "And  what  I  have 
most  to  be  thankful  for  in  life,  is  that  I  have  never  at 
tracted  that  refuse  of  mankind  who  fawn  and  flatter ;  or 
have  dismissed  them  in  short  order,"  he  added,  with  his 
usual  regard  for  facts.  "  Come  and  breakfast  with  me  to 
morrow.  Good  night." 

He  walked  home  quickly,  told  the  servant  at  the  door 
that  he  was  not  to  be  disturbed,  and  locked  himself  in  his 
study.  He  lit  one  candle,  then  threw  himself  into  his  re 
volving  chair,  and  thought  until  the  lines  in  his  face  deep 
ened  to  the  bone,  and  only  his  eyes  looked  alive.  He 
wasted  no  further  regrets  on  the  political  consequences  of 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  491 

his  act.  What  was  done,  was  done.  Nor  did  he  antici 
pate  any  such  wholesale  disaster  as  had  distracted  the 
Federalists  since  the  morning  issues.  He  knew  the  force 
of  habit  and  the  tenacity  of  men's  minds.  His  followers 
would  be  aghast,  harshly  critical  for  a  day,  then  make 
every  excuse  that  ingenuity  could  suggest,  unite  in  his 
defence,  and  follow  his  lead  with  redoubled  loyality.  His 
foresight  had  long  since  leaped  to  the  end  of  this  conflict, 
for  the  Democratic  hordes  had  been  augmenting  for  years ; 
his  own  party  was  hopelessly  divided  and  undermined  by 
systematic  slander.  To  fight  was  second  nature,  no  mat 
ter  how  hopeless  the  battle  ;  but  in  those  moments  of  almost 
terrifying  prescience  so  common  to  him,  he  realized  the 
inevitableness  of  the  end,  as  history  does  to-day.  His  only 
chance  had  been  to  placate  Adams  and  re-create  his  en 
emy's  popularity. 

The  day  never  came  when  he  was  able  to  say  that  he 
might  have  done  this  at  the  only  time  when  such  action 
would  have  counted.  He  had  been  inexorable  until  the 
pamphlet  was  flung  to  the  public ;  and  then,  although  he 
was  hardly  conscious  of  it  at  the  moment,  he  was  immedi 
ately  dispossessed  of  the  intensity  of  his  bitterness  toward 
Adams.  The  revenge  had  been  so  terrible,  so  abrupt,  that 
his  hatred  seemed  disseminating  in  the  stolen  leaves  flut 
tering  through  the  city.  Therefore  his  mind  was  free  for 
the  appalling  thought  which  took  possession  of  it  as  Troup 
poured  out  his  diatribe  ;  and  this  thought  was,  that  he  was 
no  longer  conscious  of  any  greatness  in  him.  Through 
all  the  conflicts,  trials,  and  formidable  obstacles  of  previous 
years  he  had  been  sustained  by  his  consciousness  of  super 
lative  gifts  combined  with  loftiness  of  purpose.  Had  not 
his  greatness  been  dinned  into  his  ears,  he  would  have  been 
as  familiar  with  it.  But  he  seemed  to  himself  to  have 
shrivelled,  his  very  soul  might  have  been  in  ashes  —  incre 
mated  in  the  flames  of  his  passions.  He  had  triumphed 
over  every  one  of  his  enemies  in  turn.  Historically  he 
was  justified,  and  had  he  accomplished  the  same  end  im 
personally,  they  would  have  been  the  only  sufferers,  and 
in  the  just  degree.  But  he  had  boiled  them  in  the  vitriol 


492  THE   CONQUEROR 

of  his  nature ;  he  had  scarred  them  and  warped  them  and 
destroyed  their  self-respect.  Had  these  raging  passions 
been  fed  with  other  vitalities  ?  Had  they  ravaged  his  soul 
to  nourish  his  demons  ?  Was  that  his  punishment,  —  an 
instance  of  the  inexorable  law  of  give  and  take  ? 

He  recalled  the  white  heat  of  patriotism  with  which  he 
had  written  the  revolutionary  papers  of  his  boyhood,  the 
numberless  pamphlets  which  had  finally  roused  the  States  to 
meet  in  convention  and  give  the  wretched  country  a  Consti 
tutional  Government,  "  The  Federalist" ;  which  had  spurred 
him  to  the  great  creative  acts  that  must  immortalize  him 
in  history.  He  contrasted  that  patriotic  fire  with  the  spirit 
in  which  he  had  written  the  Adams  pamphlet.  The  fire 
had  gone  out,  and  the  precipitation  was  gall  and  worm 
wood.  Even  the  spirit  in  which  he  had  first  attacked 
Jefferson  in  print  was  righteous  indignation  by  compari 
son. 

Had  he  hated  his  soul  to  cinders  ?  Had  the  bitterness 
and  the  implacability  he  had  encouraged  for  so  many 
years  bitten  their  acids  through  and  through  the  lofty 
ideals  which  once  had  been  the  larger  part  of  himself  ? 
Had  the  angel  in  him  fallen  to  the  bottom  of  the  pit  in 
that  frightful  nethermost  region  of  his,  for  his  cynical 
brain  to  mock,  until  that,  too,  was  in  its  grave  ?  He  thought 
of  the  high  degree  of  self-government,  almost  the  perfection, 
that  Washington  had  attained,  —  one  of  the  most  pas 
sionate  men  that  had  ever  lived.  Did  that  great  Chieftain 
stand  alone  in  the  history  of  souls  ?  He  thought  of  Lau- 
rens,  with  his  early  despair  that  self-conquest  seemed  im 
possible.  Would  he  have  conquered,  had  he  lived  ?  What 
would  he  or  Washington  think,  were  they  present  to-night  ? 
Would  they  hate  him,  or  would  their  love  be  proof  against 
even  this  abasement?  He  passionately  wished  they  were 
there,  whether  they  came  to  revile  or  console.  Isolated 
and  terror-stricken,  he  felt  as  if  thrust  for  ever  from  the 
world  of  living  men. 

His  mind  had  been  turned  in,  every  faculty  bent  intro- 
spectively,  but  for  some  moments  past  his  consciousness 
had  vibrated  mechanically  to  an  external  influence.  It 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE  GIANTS  493 

flew  open  suddenly,  as  he  realized  that  someone  was 
watching  him,  and  he  wheeled  his  chair  opposite  the  dusk 
in  the  lower  end  of  the  room.  For  a  moment  it  seemed 
to  him  that  every  function  in  him  ceased  and  was  envel 
oped  in  ice.  A  face  rested  lightly  on  the  farther  end  of 
the  long  table,  the  fair  hair  floating  on  either  side  of  it, 
the  eyes  fixed  upon  him  with  an  expression  that  flashed 
him  back  to  St.  Croix  and  the  last  weeks  of  his  mother's 
life.  He  fancied  in  that  moment  that  he  could  even  dis 
cern  the  earthen  hue  of  the  skin.  When  he  realized  that 
it  was  Angelica,  he  was  hardly  less  startled,  but  he  found 
his  voice. 

"  When  did  you  return  ? "  he  asked,  in  as  calm  a  tone  as 
he  could  command.  "  And  why  did  you  hide  in  here  ?  " 

"  I  came  down  with  Grandpa,  who  made  up  his  mind  in 
a  minute.  And  I  came  in  here  to  be  sure  to  have  a  little 
talk  with  you  alone.  I  was  going  to  surprise  you  as  soon 
as  you  lit  the  candle,  and  then  your  face  frightened  me. 
It  is  worse  now." 

Her  voice  was  hardly  audible,  and  she  did  not  move. 
Hamilton  went  down  and  lifted  her  to  her  feet,  then  sup 
ported  her  to  a  chair  opposite  his  own.  He  made  no 
search  for  an  excuse,  for  he  would  not  have  dared  to  offer 
it  to  this  girl,  whose  spiritual  recesses  he  suddenly  deter 
mined  to  probe.  Between  her  and  the  dead  woman  there 
was  a  similarity  that  was  something  more  than  superficially 
atavistic.  His  practical  brain  refused  to  speculate  even 
upon  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis.  He  was  like  his 
mother  in  many  ways.  That  unique  and  powerful  person 
ality  had  stamped  his  brain  cells  when  he  was  wholly  hers. 
He  recalled  that  his  own  soul  had  echoed  faintly  with 
memories  in  his  youth.  What  wonder  that  he  had  given 
this  inheritance  to  the  most  sensitively  constituted  of  his 
children,  whose  musical  genius,  the  least  sane  of  all  gifts, 
put  her  in  touch  with  the  greater  mysteries  of  the  Uni 
verse  ?  That  nebulous  memories  moved  like  ghosts  in 
her  soul  he  did  not  doubt,  nor  that  at  such  moments 
she  was  tormented  with  vague  maternal  pangs.  He  con 
quered  his  first  impulse  to  confess  himself  to  her;  doubt- 


494  THE    CONQUEROR 

less  she  needed  more  help  than  he.  She  was  staring  at 
him  in  mingled  terror  and  agony. 

"  Why  do  you  suffer  so  when  I  suffer  ?  "  he  asked  gently; 
then  bluntly,  "do  you  yearn  over  me  as  if  I  were  your 
child,  and  in  peril  ?  " 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  without  betraying  any  surprise; 
"  that  is  it.  I  have  a  terrible  feeling  of  responsibility  and 
helplessness,  of  understanding  and  knowing  nothing.  I 
feel  sometimes  as  if  I  had  done  you  a  great  wrong,  for 
which  I  suffer  when  you  are  in  trouble,  and  I  am  no  more 
use  to  you  than  John  or  little  Eliza.  If  you  would  tell  me. 
If  you  would  let  me  share  it  with  you.  You  remember  I 
begged  as  a  child.  You  have  made  believe  to  tell  me 
secrets  many  times,  but  you  have  told  me  nothing.  My 
imagination  has  nearly  shattered  me." 

"Do  you  wish  to  know  ?"  he  asked.  "Are  you  strong 
enough  to  see  me  as  I  see  myself  to-night  ?  I  warn  you  it 
will  be  a  glimpse  into  Hell." 

"I  don't  care  what  it  is,"  she  answered,  "so  long  as  it 
is  the  reality,  and  you  let  me  know  you  as  I  do  underneath 
my  blindness  and  ignorance." 

Then  he  told  her.  He  talked  to  her  as  he  would  have 
talked  to  the  dead  had  she  risen,  although  without  losing 
his  sense  of  her  identity  for  a  moment,  or  the  conscious 
ness  of  the  danger  of  the  experiment.  He  showed  her 
what  few  mortals  have  seen,  a  naked  soul  with  its  scars, 
its  stains,  and  its  ravages  from  flame  and  convulsion.  He 
need  not  have  apprehended  a  disastrous  result.  She  was 
compounded  of  his  essences,  and  her  age  was  that  inde 
terminate  mixture  of  everlasting  youth  and  anticipated  wis 
dom  which  is  the  glory  and  the  curse  of  genius.  She 
listened  intently,  the  expression  of  torment  displaced  by 
normal  if  profound  sympathy.  He  had  begun  with  the 
passions  inspired  by  Jefferson ;  he  finished  with  the  cli 
max  of  deterioration  in  the  revenge  he  had  taken  on 
Adams,  and  the  abyss  of  despair  into  which  it  had  plunged 
him.  He  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  and  regarded  his 
little  judge  with  some  defiance.  She  nodded. 

"  I  feel  old  and  wise,"  she  said,  "and  at  the  same  time 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  495 

much  younger,  because  I  no  longer  shrink  from  a  load  on 
my  mind  I  cannot  understand.  And  you  —  it  has  all  gone." 
She  darted  at  the  candle  and  held  it  to  his  face.  "  You 
look  twenty  years  younger  than  when  you  sat  there  and 
thought.  I  believed  you  were  dying  of  old  age." 

"  I  feel  better,"  he  admitted.  "  But  nothing  can  oblit 
erate  the  scars.  And  although  I  shall  always  be  young  at 
intervals,  remember  that  I  have  crowded  three  lifetimes 
into  one,  and  that  I  must  pay  the  penalty  spiritually  and 
physically,  although  mentally  I  believe  I  shall  hold  my 
own  until  the  end."  He  leaned  forward  on  a  sudden  im 
pulse  and  took  both  her  hands.  "  I  make  you  a  vow," 
he  said,  "  and  I  have  never  broken  even  a  promise  —  or 
only  one,"  he  added,  remembering  Troup's  accusation.  "  I 
will  drive  the  bitterness  out  of  myself  and  I  will  hate  no 
more.  My  public  acts  shall  be  unaccompanied  by  per 
sonal  bitterness  henceforth.  Not  a  vengeance  that  I  have 
accomplished  has  been  worth  the  hideous  experience  of 
to-night,  and  so  long  as  I  live  I  shall  have  no  cause  to 
repeat  it." 

"  If  you  ever  broke  that  vow,"  said  Angelica,  "  I  should 
either  die  or  go  crazy,  for  you  would  sink  and  never  rise 
again." 

VI 

As  Hamilton  had  anticipated,  the  Jacobin  press  shouted 
and  laughed  itself  hoarse,  vowed  that  it  never  could  have 
concocted  so  effective  a  bit  of  campaign  literature,  and  that 
the  ursine  roars  of  Adams  could  be  heard  from  Dan  to 
Beersheba.  Burr,  as  yet  undetected,  almost  danced  as  he 
walked.  The  windows  were  filled  with  parodies  of  the 
pamphlet,  entitled,  "  The  Last  Speech  and  Dying  Words  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,"  "  Hamilton's  Last  Letter  and  His 
Amorous  Vindication,"  "  A  Free  Examination  of  the 
Morals,  Political  and  Literary  Characters  of  John  Adams 
and  Alexander  Hamilton."  One  cartoon  displayed  the 
sinking  ship  Administration,  with  the  Federal  rats  scuttling 
out  of  her,  and  Hamilton  standing  alone  on  the  deck ; 


496  THE   CONQUEROR 

another,  "  The  Little  Lion  "  sitting,  dejected  and  forlorn, 
outside  the  barred  gates  of  "  Hamiltonopolis."  The  deep, 
silent  laughter  of  Jefferson  shook  the  continent. 

The  Federalist  leaders  were  furious  and  aghast.  But 
they  recovered,  and  when  the  time  came,  every  Federalist 
delegate  to  the  Electoral  College,  with  one  exception, 
voted  precisely  as  Hamilton  had  counselled.  South  Car 
olina  deserted  Pinckney  because  he  would  not  desert 
Adams,  but  she  would  have  pursued  that  policy  had 
the  pamphlet  never  been  written ;  and  whether  it  af 
fected  the  defeat  of  the  Federalists  in  Pennsylvania  and 
other  States  is  doubtful.  The  publication  in  August  of 
Adams's  letter  to  Tench  Coxe,  written  in  1792,  when  he 
was  bitterly  disappointed  at  Washington's  refusal  to  send 
him  as  minister  to  England,  and  asserting  that  the  appoint 
ment  of  Pinckney  was  due  to  British  influence,  thus  cast 
ing  opprobrium  upon  the  integrity  of  Washington,  had 
done  as  much  as  Hamilton's  pamphlet,  if  not  more,  to 
damn  him  finally  with  the  Federalists.  Hamilton's  chief 
punishment  for  his  thunderbolt  was  in  his  conscience, 
and  his  leadership  of  his  party  was  not  questioned  for  a 
moment.  He  expected  a  paternal  rebuke  from  General 
Schuyler,  but  that  old  warrior,  severe  always  with  the 
delinquencies  of  his  own  children,  had  found  few  faults  in 
his  favourite  son-in-law ;  and  he  took  a  greater  pride  in  his 
career  than  he  had  taken  in  his  own.  Now  that  gout  and 
failing  sight  had  forced  him  from  public  life,  he  found  his 
chief  enjoyment  in  Hamilton's  society.  General  Schuy 
ler  survived  the  death  of  several  of  his  children  and  of 
his  wife,  but  Hamilton's  death  killed  him.  Assuredly,  life 
dealt  generously  with  our  hero  in  the  matter  of  fathers, 
despite  or  because  of  an  early  oversight.  James  Hamilton 
had  never  made  the  long  and  dangerous  journey  to  the 
North,  and  he  had  died  on  St.  Vincent,  in  1799,  but  what 
filial  regret  his  son  might  have  dutifully  experienced  was 
swept  away  on  the  current  of  the  overwhelming  grief  for 
Washington.  And  as  for  mothers,  charming  elder  sisters, 
and  big  brothers,  eager  to  fight  his  battles,  no  man  was 
ever  so  blest. 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF   THE   GIANTS  497 

In  December  Hamilton  received  the  following  letter 
from  William  Vans  Murray  :  — 

PARIS,  Oct.  Qth,  1800. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  was  extremely  flattered  by  the  confidence  which  your 
letter  by  Mr.  Colbert  proved  you  have  in  my  disposition  to  follow  your 
wishes.  A  letter  from  you  is  no  affair  of  ceremony.  It  is  an  obliga 
tion  on  any  man  who  flatters  himself  with  the  hope  of  your  personal 
esteem.  Mr.  Colbert  gave  it  to  me  yesterday.  I  immediately,  in  par 
ticular,  addressed  a  letter  to  Bonaparte,  and  made  use  of  your  name, 
which  I  was  sure  would  be  pleasing  to  him.  To-day  I  dined  with  him. 
The  Secretary  of  State  assured  me  that  he  received  it  kindly,  and  I  can 
hope  something  good  from  him.  If  any  come  it  will  be  your  work. 
I  never  before  spoke  or  wrote  to  Bonaparte  on  any  affair  other  than 
public  business.  It  will  be  very  pleasing  to  you  if  we  succeed,  that 
your  silent  agency  works  good  to  the  unhappy  and  meritorious  at  such 
a  distance.  I  know  nothing  better  belonging  to  reputation. 

Poor  Adams ! 

General  Davie  arrived  by  the  next  ship,  bringing  with 
him  a  convention  concluded  with  France  on  the  3Oth  of 
October.  He  also  brought  a  letter  to  Hamilton  from  one 
of  the  commission,  with  a  copy  of  the  document  and  a 
journal  of  the  proceedings  of  the  negotiators.  The  writer 
was  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court.  Adams  might  occupy  the  chair  of  State,  but 
to  the  Federals  Hamilton  was  President  in  all  but  name. 

Sedgwick  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  now  a  member  of 
the  Senate,  not  knowing  of  the  communication,  wrote 
immediately  to  Hamilton,  acquainting  him  with  the  con 
tents  of  the  treaty. 

It  contains  no  stipulation  for  satisfaction  of  the  injuries  we  have 
received  [Sedgwick  wrote  in  wrath] .  It  makes  the  treaty  of  '78  a 
subject  for  future  negotiation.  It  engages  that  we  shall  return,  in  the 
condition  they  now  are,  ali  our  captures.  It  makes  neutral  bottoms 
a  protection  to  their  cargoes,  and  it  contains  a  stipulation  directly 
in  violation  of  the  25th  article  of  our  treaty  with  Great  Britain. 
Such  are  the  blessed  effects  of  our  mission!  These  are  the  ripened 
fruits  of  this  independent  Administration!  Our  friends  in  the  Senate 
are  not  enough  recovered  from  their  astonishment  to  begin  to  reflect  on 
the  course  they  shall  pursue. 

This  treaty  was  a  far  more  deadly  weapon  in  Hamil 
ton's  hands  than  the  entire  arsenal  he  had  manipulated  in 

2K 


498  THE   CONQUEROR 

his  pamphlet,  for  campaign  literature  is  often  pickled  and 
retired  with  the  salt  of  its  readers.  But  did  this  mission 
fail,  did  Adams  lose  his  only  chance  of  justification  for 
sending  the  commission  at  all,  did  the  Senate  refuse  to 
ratify,  and  war  break  out,  or  honourable  terms  of  peace  be 
left  to  the  next  President,  then  Adams's  Administration 
must  be  stamped  in  history  as  a  failure,  and  he  himself  re 
tire  from  office  covered  with  ignominy.  But  had  Hamilton 
not  recovered  his  balance  and  trimmed  to  their  old  steady 
duty  the  wicks  of  those  lamps  whose  brilliance  had 
dimmed  in  a  stormy  hour,  his  statesmanship  would  have 
controlled  him  in  such  a  crisis  as  this.  He  knew  that  the 
rejection  of  the  treaty  would  shatter  the  Federal  party  and 
cause  national  schisms  and  discords ;  that,  if  left  over  to  a 
Jacobin  administration,  the  result  would  be  still  worse  for 
the  United  States.  It  was  a  poor  thing,  but  no  doubt  the 
best  that  could  have  been  extracted  from  triumphant 
France ;  nor  was  it  as  bad  in  some  respects  as  the  irri 
tated  Senate  would  have  it.  Such  as  it  was,  it  must  be 
ratified,  peace  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  Federalists,  and 
the  act  of  the  man  they  had  made  President  justified. 
Hamilton  was  obliged  to  write  a  great  many  letters  on 
the  subject,  for  the  Federalists  found  it  a  bitter  pill  to 
swallow ;  but  he  prevailed  and  they  swallowed  it. 

Meanwhile,  the  Electoral  College  had  met.  Adams  ha.d 
received  sixty-five  votes,  Pinckney  sixty-four,  Jefferson  and 
Burr  seventy-three  each.  That  threw  the  decision  upon  the 
House  of  Representatives,  for  Burr  refused  to  recognize  the 
will  of  the  people,  and  withdraw  in  favour  of  the  man  whom 
the  Democratic  hemisphere  of  American  politics  had  unani 
mously  elected.  Burr  had  already  lost  caste  with  the  party 
by  his  attempts  to  secure  more  votes  than  the  leaders  were 
willing  to  give  him,  and  had  alarmed  Jefferson  into  strenu 
ous  and  diplomatic  effort,  the  while  he  piously  folded  his 
visible  hands  or  discoursed  upon  the  bones  of  the  mam 
moth.  When  Burr,  therefore,  permitted  the  election  to  go 
to  the  House,  he  was  flung  out  of  the  Democratic  party 
neck  and  crop,  and  Jefferson  treated  him  like  a  dog  until 
he  killed  Hamilton,  when  he  gave  a  banquet  in  his  honour. 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  499 

Burr's  only  chance  for  election  lay  with  the  Federalists, 
who  would  rather  have  seen  horns  and  a  tail  in  the  Execu 
tive  Chair  than  Thomas  Jefferson.  Hamilton  had  antici 
pated  their  hesitation  and  disposition  to  bargain  with  Burr, 
and  he  bombarded  them  with  letters  from  the  moment  the 
Electoral  College  announced  the  result,  until  the  House 
decided  the  question  on  the  I7th  of  February.  He  analyzed 
Burr  for  the  benefit  of  the  anxious  members  until  the  dark 
and  poisonous  little  man  must  have  haunted  their  dreams 
at  night.  Whether  they  approached  Burr  or  not  will  never 
be  known ;  but  they  were  finally  convinced  that  to  bargain 
with  a  man  as  unfigurable  as  water  would  be  throwing 
away  time  which  had  far  better  be  employed  in  extracting 
pledges  from  Jefferson. 

One  of  Hamilton's  letters  to  Gouverneur  Morris,  who 
wielded  much  influence  in  the  House,  is  typical  of  many. 

•  •  •  Another  subject.  Jefferson  or  Burr?  The  former  beyond  a 
doubt.  The  latter  in  my  judgement  has  no  principle,  public  or  pri 
vate  ;  could  be  bound  by  no  agreement ;  will  listen  to  no  monitor  but 
his  ambition  ;  and  for  this  purpose  will  use  the  worst  portion  of  the 
community  as  a  ladder  to  climb  to  permanent  power,  and  an  instrument 
to  crush  the  better  part.  He  is  bankrupt  beyond  redemption,  except  by 
the  resources  that  grow  out  of  war  and  disorder :  or  by  a  sale  to  a  for 
eign  power,  or  by  great  peculation.  War  with  Great  Britain  would  be 
the  immediate  instrument.  He  is  sanguine  enough  to  hope  everything, 
daring  enough  to  attempt  everything,  wicked  enough  to  scruple  nothing. 
From  the  elevation  of  such  a  man  may  heaven  preserve  the  country. 

Let  our  situation  be  improved  to  obtain  from  Jefferson  assurances 
on  certain  points  :  the  maintenance  of  the  present  system,  especially  on 
the  cardinal  articles  of  public  credit  —  a  navy,  neutrality.  Make  any 
discreet  use  you  may  think  fit  of  this  letter. 

He  was  deeply  alarmed  at  the  tendency  of  the  excited 
House,  which  sat  in  continuous  session  from  the  nth  to 
the  1 7th,  members  sleeping  on  the  floor  and  sick  men 
brought  thither  on  cots,  one  with  his  wife  in  attendance. 
The  South  was  threatening  civil  war,  and  Burr's  subsequent 
career  justified  his  alarm  and  his  warnings ;  but  in  spite  of 
his  great  influence  he  won  his  case  with  his  followers  by  a 
very  small  margin.  They  were  under  no  delusions  regard 
ing  the  character  of  Burr,  their  letters  to  Hamilton  abound 


5oo  THE   CONQUEROR 

in  strictures  almost  as  severe  as  his  own,  but  their  argument 
was  that  he  was  the  less  of  two  evils,  that  every  move  he 
made  could  be  sharply  watched.  It  is  quite  true  that  he 
would  have  had  Federalists  and  Democrats  in  both  Houses 
to  frustrate  him ;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to 
the  former  that  impeachment  would  have  been  inevitable, 
and  Jefferson  President  but  a  year  or  two  later  than  the 
will  of  the  people  decreed.  But  it  was  a  time  of  terrible 
excitement,  and  for  the  matter  of  that  their  brains  must 
have  been  a  trifle  clouded  by  the  unvarying  excitement  of 
their  lives.  Bayard  of  Delaware,  with  whom  Hamilton  had 
fought  over  point  by  point,  winning  one  or  more  with  each 
letter,  changed  his  vote  on  the  last  ballot  from  Burr  to  a 
blank.  Hamilton's  friends  knew  that  Burr  would  kill  him 
sooner  or  later,  for  the  ambitious  man  had  lost  his  one 
chance  of  the  great  office ;  but  Hamilton  chose  to  see  only 
the  humour  of  the  present  he  had  made  Thomas  Jefferson. 
That  sensible  politician  had  tacitly  agreed  to  the  terms  sug 
gested  by  the  Federalists,  when  they  debated  the  possibility 
of  accepting  him,  and  Hamilton  knew  that  he  was  far  too 
clever  to  break  his  word  at  once.  What  Hamilton  hoped 
for  was  what  came  to  pass  :  Jefferson  found  the  machinery 
of  his  new  possession  more  to  his  taste  than  he  could  have 
imagined  while  sitting  out  in  the  cold,  and  he  let  it  alone. 

VII 

Hamilton  was  now  free  to  devote  himself  to  the  practice 
of  law,  with  but  an  occasional  interruption.  It  hardly  need 
be  stated  that  he  kept  a  sharp  eye  on  Jefferson,  but  for  the 
sake  of  the  country  he  supported  him  when  he  could  do  so 
consistently  with  his  principles.  More  than  once  the  Presi 
dent  found  in  him  an  invaluable  ally ;  and  as  often,  per 
haps,  he  writhed  as  on  a  hot  gridiron.  Hamilton  came  forth 
in  the  pamphlet  upon  extreme  occasions  only,  but  he  was 
still  the  first  political  philosopher  and  writer  of  his  time,  and 
the  Federalists  would  have  demanded  his  pen  upon  these 
occasions  had  he  been  disposed  to  retire  it.  Although  out 
of  the  active  field  of  politics,  he  kept  the  best  of  the  de- 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE  GIANTS  501 

moralized  Federalists  together,  warning  them  constantly 
that  the  day  might  come  when  they  would  be  called  upon 
to  reorganize  a  disintegrated  union,  and  responding  to  the 
demands  of  his  followers  in  Congress  for  advice.  In  local 
politics  he  continued  to  make  himself  felt  in  spite  of  the 
fattening  ranks  of  Democracy.  His  most  powerful  instru 
ment  was  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  which  he  founded 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  Federalist  cause  alive,  and 
holding  the  enemy  in  check.  He  selected  an  able  man  as 
editor,  William  Coleman  of  Massachusetts,  but  he  directed 
the  policy  of  the  paper,  dictating  many  of  the  editorials  in 
the  late  hours  of  night.  This  journal  took  its  position  at 
once  as  the  most  respectable  and  brilliant  in  the  country. 

He  also  founded  the  Society  for  the  Manumission  of 
Slaves,  securing  as  honorary  member  the  name  of  Lafa 
yette  —  now  a  nobleman  at  large  once  more.  But  all  these 
duties  weighed  lightly.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he 
felt  himself  at  liberty  to  devote  himself  almost  wholly  to 
his  practice,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  making  fif 
teen  thousand  dollars  a  year.  It  was  an  immense  income 
to  make  in  that  time,  and  he  could  have  doubled  it  had  he 
been  less  erratic  in  the  matter  of  fees.  Upon  one  occasion 
he  was  sent  eight  thousand  dollars  for  winning  a  suit,  and 
returned  seven.  He  invariably  placed  his  own  valuation 
upon  a  case,  and  frequently  refused  large  fees  that  would 
have  been  paid  with  gratitude.  If  a  case  interested  him 
and  the  man  who  asked  his  services  were  poorer  than  him 
self,  he  would  accept  nothing.  If  he  were  convinced  that  a 
man  was  in  the  wrong,  he  would  not  take  his  case  at  any 
price.  He  was  delighted  to  be  able  to  shower  benefits 
upon  his  little  family,  and  he  would  have  ceased  to  be 
Alexander  Hamilton  had  he  been  content  to  occupy  a 
second  place  at  the  bar,  or  in  any  other  pursuit  which 
engaged  his  faculties ;  but  for  money  itself,  he  had  only 
contempt.  Perhaps  that  is  the  reason  why  he  is  so  out  of 
tune  with  the  present  day,  and  unknown  to  the  average 
American. 

Washington,  after  the  retirement  of  John  Jay,  had  offered 
Hamilton  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States ; 


502  THE   CONQUEROR 

but  Hamilton  felt  that  the  bar  was  more  suited  to  his 
activities  than  the  bench,  and  declined  the  gift.  His  legal 
career  was  as  brilliant  and  successful  as  his  political,  but 
although  none  is  more  familiar  to  ambitious  lawyers,  and 
his  position  as  the  highest  authority  on  constitutional  law 
has  never  been  rivalled,  his  achievements  of  greater  value 
to  the  Nation  have  reduced  it  in  history  to  the  position  of 
an  incident.  There  is  little  space  left,  and  somewhat  of 
his  personal  life  still  to  tell,  but  no  story  of  Hamilton  would 
be  complete  without  at  least  a  glimpse  of  this  particular 
shuttle  in  the  tireless  loom  of  his  brain.  Such  glimpses 
have  by  no  one  been  so  sharply  given  as  by  his  great  con 
temporary,  Chancellor  Kent. 

He  never  made  any  argument  in  court  [Kent  relates]  without  display 
ing  his  habits  of  thinking,  resorting  at  once  to  some  well-founded  prin 
ciple  of  law,  and  drawing  his  deductions  logically  from  his  premises. 
Law  was  always  treated  by  him  as  a  science,  founded  on  established 
principles.  .  .  .  He  rose  at  once  to  the  loftiest  heights  of  profes 
sional  eminence,  by  his  profound  penetration,  his  power  of  analysis, 
the  comprehensive  grasp  and  strength  of  his  understanding,  and  the 
firmness,  frankness  and  integrity  of  his  character.  .  .  .  His  manners 
were  affable,  gentle  and  kind ;  and  he  appeared  to  be  frank,  liberal  and 
courteous  in  all  his  professional  intercourse.  [Referring  to  a  particular 
case  the  Chancellor  continues.]  Hamilton  by  means  of  his  fine  melodious 
voice,  and  dignified  deportment,  his  reasoning  powers  and  persuasive 
address,  soared  far  above  all  competition.  His  preeminence  was  at  once 
and  universally  conceded.  .  .  .  Hamilton  returned  to  private  life  and 
to  the  practice  of  the  law  in  '95.  He  was  cordially  welcomed  and  cheered 
on  his  return,  by  his  fellow  citizens.  Between  this  year  and  1798,  he 
took  his  station  as  the  leading  counsel  at  the  bar.  He  was  employed 
in  every  important  and  every  commercial  case.  He  was  a  very  great 
favourite  with  the  merchants  of  New  York  and  he  most  justly  deserved 
to  be,  for  he  had  shown  himself  to  be  one  of  the  most  enlightened,  intrepid 
and  persevering  friends  to  the  commercial  prosperity  of  this  country.  In 
surance  questions,  both  upon  the  law  and  fact,  constituted  a  large  portion 
of  the  litigated  business  in  the  courts,  and  much  of  the  intense  study  and 
discussion  at  the  bar.  Hamilton  had  an  overwhelming  share  of  this  busi 
ness.  .  .  .  His  mighty  mind  would  at  times  bear  down  all  opposition  by 
its  comprehensive  grasp  and  the  strength  of  his  reasoning  powers.  He 
taught  us  all  how  to  probe  deeply  into  the  hidden  recesses  of  the  science, 
and  to  follow  up  principles  to  their  far  distant  sources.  He  ransacked 
cases  and  precedents  to  their  very  foundations  ;  and  we  learned  from  him 
to  carry  our  inquiries  into  the  commercial  codes  of  the  nations  of  the 
European  continent  ;  and  in  a  special  manner  to  illustrate  the  law  of 


THE    LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  503 

insurance  by  the  secure  judgement  of  Emerigon  and  the  luminous  com 
mentaries  of  Valin.  .  .  .  My  judicial  station  in  1798  brought  Hamilton 
before  me  in  a  new  relation.  ...  I  was  called  to  listen  with  lively  in 
terest  and  high  admiration  to  the  rapid  exercise  of  his  reasoning  powers, 
the  intensity  and  sagacity  with  which  he  pursued  his  investigations,  his 
piercing  criticisms,  his  masterly  analysis,  and  the  energy  and  fervour 
of  his  appeals  to  the  judgement  and  conscience  of  the  tribunal  which 
he  addressed.  [In  regard  to  the  celebrated  case  of  Croswell  vs.  the 
People,  in  the  course  of  which  Hamilton  reversed  the  law  of  libel,  de 
claring  the  British  interpretation  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  genius  of 
the  American  people,  Kent  remarks.]  I  have  always  considered  General 
Hamilton's  argument  in  this  cause  as  the  greatest  forensic  effort  he 
ever  made.  He  had  come  prepared  to  discuss  the  points  of  law  with 
a  perfect  mastery  of  the  subject.  He  believed  that  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  people  were  essentially  concerned.  .  .  .  There  was  an 
unusual  solemnity  and  earnestness  on  his  part  in  this  discussion.  He  was 
at  times  highly  impassioned  and  pathetic.  His  whole  soul  was  enlisted 
in  the  cause,  and  in  contending  for  the  rights  of  the  Jury  and  a  free 
Press,  he  considered  that  he  was  establishing  the  surest  refuge  against 
oppression.  .  .  .  He  never  before  in  my  hearing  made  any  effort  in 
which  he  commanded  higher  reverence  for  his  principles,  nor  equal 
admiration  of  the  power  and  pathos  of  his  eloquence.  ...  I  have  very 
little  doubt  that  if  General  Hamilton  had  lived  twenty  years  longer,  he 
would  have  rivalled  Socrates  or  Bacon,  or  any  other  of  the  sages  of 
ancient  or  modern  times,  in  researches  after  truth  and  in  benevolence 
to  mankind.  The  active  and  profound  statesman,  the  learned  and  elo 
quent  lawyer,  would  probably  have  disappeared  in  a  great  degree  before 
the  character  of  the  sage  and  philosopher,  instructing  mankind  by  his 
wisdom,  and  elevating  the  country  by  his  example. 

[Ambrose  Spencer,  Attorney  General  of  the  State,  —  afterward  Chief 
Justice,  —  who  did  not  love  him,  having  received  the  benefit  of  Hamil 
ton's  scathing  sarcasm  more  than  once,  has  this  to  say.]  Alexander 
Hamilton  was  the  greatest  man  this  country  ever  produced.  I  knew 
him  well.  I  was  in  situations  to  observe  and  study  him.  He  argued 
cases  before  me  while  I  sat  as  judge  on  the  bench.  Webster  has  done 
the  same.  In  power  of  reasoning,  Hamilton  was  the  equal  of  Webster ; 
and  more  than  this  can  be  said  of  no  man.  In  creative  power,  Hamilton 
was  infinitely  Webster's  superior,  and  in  this  respect  he  was  endowed 
as  God  endows  the  most  gifted  of  our  race.  If  we  call  Shakspeare  a 
genius  or  creator,  because  he  evoked  plays  and  character  from  the  great 
chaos  of  thought,  Hamilton  merits  the  same  appellation  ;  for  it  was  he, 
more  than  any  other  man,  who  thought  out  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  the  details  of  the  Government  of  the  Union ;  and 
out  of  the  chaos  that  existed  after  the  Revolution,  raised  a  fabric,  every 
part  of  which  is  instinct  with  his  thought.  I  can  truly  say  that  hundreds 
of  politicians  and  statesmen  of  the  day  get  both  the  web  and  woof  of 
their  thoughts  from  Hamilton's  brains.  He,  more  than  any  man,  did 
the  thinking  of  the  time. 


504  THE   CONQUEROR 

His  fooling  was  as  inimitable  as  his  use  of  passion  and 
logic,  and  on  one  occasion  he  treated  Gouverneur  Morris, 
who  was  his  opposing  counsel,  to  such  a  prolonged  attack 
of  raillery  that  his  momentary  rival  sat  with  the  perspira 
tion  pouring  from  his  brow,  and  was  acid  for  some  time 
after.  During  his  earlier  years  of  practice,  while  listen 
ing  to  Chancellor  Livingston  summing  up  a  case  in  which 
eloquence  was  made  to  disguise  the  poverty  of  the  cause, 
Hamilton  scribbled  on  the  margin  of  his  brief  :  "  Recipe 
for  obtaining  good  title  for  ejectment:  two  or  three  void 
patents,  several  ex  parte  surveys,  one  or  two  acts  of  usur 
pation  acquiesced  in  for  the  time  but  afterwards  proved 
such.  Mix  well  with  half  a  dozen  scriptural  allusions,  some 
ghosts,  fairies,  elves,  hobgoblins,  and  a  quantum  stiff,  of 
eloquence."  Hamilton  also  originated  the  practice  of 
preparing  "  Points,"  now  in  general  use. 

VIII 

Hamilton,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  great  libel  case 
in  the  spring  of  1804,  returned  from  Albany  to  New  York 
to  receive  honours  almost  as  great,  if  less  vociferous,  than 
those  which  had  hailed  him  after  the  momentous  Conven 
tion  of  1788.  Banquets  were  given  in  his  honour,  the  bar 
extolled  him,  and  the  large  body  of  his  personal  friends 
were  triumphant  at  this  new  proof  of  his  fecundity  and  his 
power  over  the  minds  of  men.  They  were  deeply  disturbed 
on  another  point,  however,  and  several  days  after  his  arrival, 
Troup  rode  out  to  The  Grange,  Hamilton's  country-seat,  to 
remonstrate. 

Hamilton,  several  years  since,  had  bought  a  large  tract 
of  wooded  land  on  Harlem  Heights  and  built  him  a  house 
on  the  ridge.  It  commanded  a  view  of  the  city,  the  Hud 
son,  and  the  Sound.  The  house  was  spacious  and  strong, 
built  to  withstand  the  winds  of  the  Atlantic,  and  to  shelter 
commodiously  not  only  his  family,  but  his  many  guests. 
The  garden  and  the  woods  were  the  one  hobby  of  his  life, 
and  with  his  own  hands  he  had  planted  thirteen  gum  trees 
to  commemorate  the  thirteen  original  States  of  the  Union. 


THE   LAST  BATTLE  OF  THE   GIANTS          505 

Fortunately  his  deepest  sorrow  was  not  associated  with  this 
estate ;  Philip  had  fallen  before  the  house  was  finished. 
This  brilliant  youth,  who  had  left  Columbia  with  flying 
honours,  had  brooded  over  the  constant  attacks  upon  his 
father,  —  still  the  Colossus  in  the  path  of  the  Democrats, 
to  be  destroyed  before  they  could  feel  secure  in  their  new 
possessions,  —  until  he  had  deliberately  insulted  the  most 
recent  offender,  received  his  challenge,  and  been  shot  to 
death  close  to  the  spot  where  Hamilton  was  to  fall  a  few 
years  later.  That  was  in  the  autumn  of  1801.  Hamilton's 
strong  brain  and  buoyant  temperament  had  delivered  him 
from  the  intolerable  suffering  of  that  heaviest  of  his  afflic 
tions,  and1  the  severe  and  unremitting  work  of  his  life  gave 
him  little  time  to  brood.  If  he  rarely  lost  consciousness 
of  his  bereavement,  the  sharpness  passed,  and  he  was  even 
grateful  at  times  that  his  son,  whose  gifts  would  have  urged 
him  into  public  life,  was  spared  the  crucifying  rewards  of 
patriotism. 

As  Troup  rode  up  the  avenue  and  glanced  from  right 
to  left  into  the  heavy  shades  of  the  forest,  with  its  boulders 
and  ravines,  its  streams  and  mosses  and  ferns,  then  to  the 
brilliant  mass  of  colour  at  the  end  of  the  avenue,  out  of 
which  rose  the  stately  house,  he  sighed  heavily. 

"  May  the  devil  get  the  lot  of  them  !  "  he  said. 

It  was  Saturday,  and  he  found  Hamilton  on  his  back 
under  a  tree,  the  last  number  of  the  Moniteur  close  to  his 
hand,  his  wife  and  Angelica  looking  down  upon  him  from 
a  rustic  seat.  Both  the  women  were  in  mourning,  and 
Betsey's  piquant  charming  face  was  aging ;  her  sister 
Peggy  and  her  mother  had  followed  her  son. 

Hamilton  had  never  recovered  his  health,  and  he  paid 
for  the  prolonged  strains  upon  his  delicate  system  with  a 
languor  to  which  at  times  he  was  forced  to  yield.  To-day, 
although  he  greeted  the  welcome  visitor  gaily,  he  did  not 
rise,  and  Troup  sat  down  on  the  ground  with  his  back  to 
the  tree.  As  he  looked  very  solemn,  Mrs.  Hamilton  and 
Angelica  inferred  they  were  not  wanted,  and  retired. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  Hamilton,  laughing.  "  What  is  it  ?  What 
have  I  done  now  ? " 


506  THE   CONQUEROR 

"  Put  another  nail  into  your  coffin,  we  are  all  afraid.  The 
story  of  the  paper  you  read  before  the  Federalist  Conference 
in  Albany  is  common  talk ;  and  if  Burr  is  defeated,  it  will 
be  owing  to  your  influence,  whether  you  hold  yourself  aloof 
from  this  election  or  not.  Why  do  you  jeopardize  your 
life  ?  I'd  rather  give  him  his  plum  and  choke  him  with 
it- 

"  What  ?  "  cried  Hamilton,  erect  and  alert.  "  Permit 
Burr  to  become  Governor  of  New  York  ?  Do  you  realize 
that  the  New  England  States  are  talking  of  secession,  that 
even  the  Democrats  of  the  North  are  disgusted  and  alarmed 
at  the  influence  and  arrogance  of  Virginia  ?  Burr  has  a 
certain  prestige  in  New  England  on  account  of  his  father 
and  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  his  agents  have  been  promot 
ing  discussion  of  this  ancestry  for  some  time  past.  Do 
the  Federalists  of  New  York  endorse  him,  this  prestige  will 
have  received  its  fine  finish  ;  and  New  Englanders  have 
winked  his  vices  out  of  sight  because  Jefferson's  treatment 
of  him  makes  him  almost  virtuous  in  their  eyes.  The  mo 
ment  he  is  Governor  he  will  foment  the  unrest  of  New 
England  until  it  secedes,  and  then,  being  the  first  officer  of 
the  leading  State  of  the  North,  he  will  claim  a  higher  office 
that  will  end  in  sovereignty.  He  fancies  himself  another 
Bonaparte,  he  who  is  utterly  devoid  of  even  that  desire 
for  fame,  and  that  magnificence,  which  would  make  the 
Corsican  a  great  man  without  his  genius.  That  he  is  in 
communication  with  his  idol,  I  happen  to  know,  for  he  has 
been  seen  in  secret  conversation  with  fresh  Jacobin  spies. 
Now  is  the  time  to  crush  Burr  once  for  all.  Jefferson  has 
intrigued  the  Livingstons  and  Clinton  away  from  him  again  ; 
the  party  he  patched  together  out  of  hating  factions  is  in 
a  state  of  incohesion.  If  the  Federals  — 

"That  is  just  it,"  interrupted  Troup ;  "the  man  is  des 
perate.  So  are  his  followers,  his  '  little  band.'  They  were 
sick  and  gasping  after  Burr's  failure  to  receive  one  vote  in 
the  Republican  caucus  for  even  the  Vice-Presidency,  and 
they  know  that  the  Louisiana  Purchase  has  made  Jeffer 
son  invincible  with  the  Democrats  —  or  the  Republicans, 
as  Jefferson  still  persists  in  calling  them.  They  know  that 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  507 

Burr's  chance  for  the  Presidency  has  gone  for  ever.  So 
New  York  is  their  only  hope.  Secession  and  empire  or 
not,  their  hope,  like  his,  is  in  the  spoils  of  office ;  they  are 
lean  and  desperate.  If  you  balk  them  — 

"  What  a  spectacle  is  this  !  "  cried  Hamilton,  gaily.  He 
threw  himself  back  on  the  grass,  and  clasped  his  hands 
behind  his  head.  "Troup,  of  all  men,  reproaching  me 
for  keeping  a  vow  he  once  was  ready  to  annihilate  me  for 
having  broken.  That  offence  was  insignificant  to  the 
crime  of  supinely  permitting  our  Catiline  to  accomplish 
his  designs." 

"  If  I  could  agree  with  you,  I  should  be  the  last  to 
counsel  indifference ;  no,  not  if  your  life  were  the  forfeit. 
But  I  never  believed  in  Burr's  talent  for  conspiracy.  He 
is  too  sanguine  and  visionary.  He  desires  power,  office, 
and  emolument  —  rewards  for  his  henchmen  before  they 
desert  him;  but  I  believe  he'd  go — or  get  —  no  farther, 
and  the  country  is  strong  enough  to  stand  a  quack  or  two ; 
while,  if  we  lose  you  —  " 

"  You  will  live  to  see  every  prophecy  I  have  made  in  regard 
to  Burr  fulfilled.  I  will  not,  because  so  long  as  I  am  alive 
he  shall  not  even  attempt  to  split  the  Union,  to  whose  ac 
complishment  and  maintenance  I  pledged  every  faculty  and 
my  last  vital  spark.  Sanguine  and  visionary  he  may  be, 
but  he  is  also  cunning  and  quick,  and  there  is  a  condition 
ready  to  his  hand  at  the  present  moment.  Jefferson  is 
bad  enough,  Heaven  knows.  He  has  retained  our  machin 
ery,  but  I  sometimes  fancy  I  can  hear  the  crumbling  of 
the  foundations ;  the  demoralizing  and  the  disintegrating 
process  began  even  sooner  than  I  expected.  He  is  appeal 
ing  to  the  meanest  passion  of  mankind,  vanity ;  and  the 
United  States,  which  we  tried  to  make  the  ideal  Republic, 
is  galloping  toward  the  most  mischievous  of  all  establish 
ments,  Democracy.  Every  cowherd  hopes  to  be  President. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  civilization,  pray,  if  the  educated, 
enlightened,  broad-minded,  are  not  to  rule  ?  Is  man  per 
mitted  to  advance,  progress,  embellish  his  understanding, 
for  his  own  selfish  benefit,  or  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  ? 
And  how  can  his  superiority  avail  his  fellows  unless  he 


5o8  THE   CONQUEROR 

be  permitted  to  occupy  the  high  offices  of  responsibility? 
God  knows,  he  is  not  happy  in  his  power ;  he  is,  indeed,  a 
sacrifice  to  the  mass.  But  so  it  was  intended.  He  is  the 
only  sufferer,  and  mankind  is  happier." 

"  Jefferson  and  Burr  both  have  a  consummate  know 
ledge  of  the  limited  understanding ;  they  know  how  to 
tickle  it  with  painted  straws  and  bait  it  with  lies.  Bona 
parte  is  not  a  greater  autocrat  than  Jefferson,  but  our 
tyrant  fools  the  world  with  his  dirty  old  clothes  and  his 
familiarities.  But  I  am  not  to  be  diverted.  I  want  to 
keep  you  for  my  old  age.  I  believe  that  you  have  done 
your  part.  It  has  been  a  magnificent  part ;  there  is  no 
greater  in  history.  Your  friends  are  satisfied.  So  should 
you  be.  I  want  you  to  give  up  politics  before  it  is  too 
late.  I  fear  more  than  one  evil,  and  it  has  kept  me  awake 
many  nights.  Burr  is  not  the  only  one  who  wishes  you 
under  ground.  His  '  little  band  '  is  composed  of  men  who 
are  worse  than  himself  without  one  of  his  talents.  Any 
one  of  them  is  capable  of  stabbing  you  in  the  dark.  The 
Virginia  Junta  know  that  the  Federalist  party  will  exist 
as  long  as  you  do,  and  that  some  external  menace  might 
cohere  and  augment  it  again  under  your  leadership.  At 
every  Federalist  banquet  last  Fourth  you  were  toasted  as  the 
greatest  man  in  America ;  and  I  know  this  undiminished 
enthusiasm  —  as  well  as  the  influence  of  the  Evening  Post 
—  alarms  them  deeply.  They  are  neither  great  enough 
nor  bad  enough  to  murder  you,  nor  even  to  employ  some 
one  to  do  it;  but  more  than  one  needy  rascal  knows  that 
he  has  only  to  call  you  out  and  kill  you  according  to  the 
code,  to  be  rewarded  with  an  office  as  soon  as  decency 
permits.  There  is  another  menace.  I  suppose  you  have 
heard  that  Mrs.  Croix  married  a  Frenchman  named  Stephen 
Jumel  while  you  were  in  Albany?" 

"Yes!"  exclaimed  Hamilton,  with  interest ;  "who  is  he?" 
"  A  Parisian  diamond  merchant  and  banker,  a  personal 
friend  of  Bonaparte.  The  belief  is  that  he  came  over  here 
as  a  special  emissary  of  the  Consulate.  Of  course  he 
brought  a  letter  to  that  other  illustrious  agent,  and  to  the 
amazement  of  everybody  he  married  her.  They  must 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  509 

handle  thousands  of  French  money  between  them.  France 
would  be  something  more  than  glad  to  hear  of  your  elimi 
nation  from  this  complicated  American  problem ;  par 
ticularly,  if  you  demonstrate  your  power  by  crushing  this 
last  hope  of  Burr's.  I  doubt  if  Burr  would  call  you  out 
with  no  stronger  motive  than  a  desire  for  personal  revenge. 
He  is  no  fool,  and  he  knows  that  if  he  kills  you,  he  had 
better  put  a  bullet  through  his  own  brain  at  once.  He  is 
a  sanguine  man,  but  not  so  sanguine  as  not  to  know  that 
if  he  compassed  your  death,  he  would  be  hounded  into 
exile.  But  he  is  in  a  more  desperate  way  financially  than 
ever.  He  can  borrow  no  more,  and  his  debtors  are  clam 
ouring.  If  he  is  defeated  in  this  election,  and  the  Jumels 
are  sharp  enough  to  take  advantage  of  his  fury  and 
despair,  —  I  think  she  has  been  watching  her  chance  for 
years ;  and  the  talk  is,  she  is  anxious,  for  her  own  reasons, 
to  get  rid  of  Burr,  besides,  —  I  believe  that  a  large  enough 
sum  would  tempt  Burr  to  call  you  out  — 

"  He  certainly  is  hard  up,"  interrupted  Hamilton,  "  for 
he  rang  my  front  door  bell  at  five  o'clock  this  morning,  and 
when  I  let  him  in  he  went  on  like  a  madman  and  begged 
me  to  let  him  have  several  thousands,  or  Richmond  Hill 
would  be  sold  over  his  head." 

"  And  you  gave  them  to  him,  I  suppose  ?  How  much 
have  you  lent  him  altogether  ?  I  know  from  Washington 
Morton  that  Burr  borrowed  six  hundred  dollars  of  you 
through  him." 

"  I  lent  him  the  six  hundred,  partly  because  his  desper 
ate  plight  appeals  to  me  —  I  believe  him  to  be  the  unhap- 
piest  wretch  in  America  —  and  more  because  I  don't  want 
Europe  laughing  at  the  spectacle  of  a  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States  in  Debtor's  prison.  Of  course  I  can't 
lend  him  this  last  sum  myself,  but  I  have  promised  to  raise 
it  for  him." 

"  Well,  I  argue  with  you  no  more  about  throwing  away 
money.  Did  you  listen  to  what  I  said  about  Madame 
Jumel?" 

"With  the  deepest  interest.  It  was  most  ingenious,  and 
does  honour  to  your  imagination." 


5io  THE   CONQUEROR 

Troup,  with  an  angry  exclamation,  sprang  to  his  feet. 
Hamilton  deftly  caught  him  by  the  ankle  and  his  great 
form  sprawled  on  the  grass.  He  arose  in  wrath. 

"  You  are  no  older  than  one  of  your  own  young  ones  !  " 
he  began  ;  then  recovered,  and  resumed  his  seat.  "  This 
is  the  latest  story  I  have  heard  of  you,"  he  continued : 
"Some  man  from  New  England  came  here  recently  with 
a  letter  to  you.  When  he  returned  to  his  rural  home  he 
was  asked  if  he  had  seen  the  great  man.  '  I  don't  know 
about  the  great,'  he  replied;  'but  he  was  as  playful  as  a 
kitten.' " 

Hamilton  laughed  heartily.  "  Well,  let  me  frolic  while 
I  may,"  he  said.  "I  shall  die  by  Burr's  hand,  no  doubt 
of  that  Whether  he  kills  me  for  revenge  or  money,  that 
is  my  destiny,  and  I  have  known  it  for  years.  And  it  does 
not  matter  in  the  least,  my  dear  Bob.  I  have  not  three 
years  of  life  left  in  me." 

IX 

Burr  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  seven  thousand 
votes ;  and  New  England,  which  had  hoped,  with  the  help 
of  a  man  who  was  at  war  with  all  the  powerful  families  of 
New  York,  —  Schuylers,  Livingstons,  and  Clintons  at  the 
head  of  them,  —  to  break  down  the  oligarchy  of  which  it 
had  been  jealous  for  nearly  a  century,  deserted  the  politi 
cian  promptly.  Incidentally,  Hamilton  had  quenched  its 
best  hope  of  secession,  for  the  elected  Governor  of  New 
York,  Judge  Lewis,  was  a  member  of  the  Livingston  fam 
ily.  Burr  was  in  a  desperate  plight.  Debtor's  prison  and 
disgrace  yawned  before  him  ;  his  only  followers  left  were 
a  handful  of  disappointed  politicians,  and  these  deserted 
him  daily.  But  although  his  hatred  of  Hamilton,  by  now, 
was  a  foaming  beast  within  him,  he  was  wary  and  cool- 
headed,  and  history  knows  no  better  than  he  did  that  if 
he  killed  the  man  who  was  still  the  most  brilliant  figure  in 
America,  as  well  as  the  idol  of  the  best  men  in  it,  cunning, 
and  skill,  and  mastery  of  every  political  art  would  avail 
him  nothing  in  the  future ;  every  avenue  but  that  frequented 


THE    LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  511 

by  the  avowed  adventurer  would  be  closed  to  him.  More 
over,  he  must  have  known  that  Hamilton's  life  was  almost 
over,  that  in  a  very  few  years  he  could  intrigue  undisturbed. 
Nor  could  he  have  felt  a  keen  interest  in  presenting  to 
Jefferson  so  welcome  a  gift  as  his  own  political  corpse. 
But,  desperate  for  money,  crushed  to  the  earth,  his  hatred 
for  Hamilton  cursing  and  raging  afresh,  the  only  conspic 
uous  enemy  who  might  be  bought  with  gold  of  the  man 
who  was  still  a  bristling  rampart  in  the  path  of  successful 
Jacobinism,  he  was  in  a  situation  to  fall  an  easy  victim  to 
greater  plotters  than  himself.  His  act,  did  he  challenge 
Hamilton,  would  be  ascribed  to  revenge,  and  the  towering 
figures  in  the  background  of  the  tragedy  would  pass  un 
noticed  by  the  horrified  spectators  in  front. 

On  June  i8th  William  Van  Ness,  Burr's  intimate  friend, 
waited  upon  Hamilton  with  a  studiously  impertinent  note, 
demanding  an  acknowledgment  or  denial  of  the  essence 
of  certain  newspaper  paragraphs,  which  stated  that  the 
leader  of  the  Federalists  had,  upon  various  occasions,  ex 
pressed  his  low  opinion  of  the  New  York  politician,  and 
in  no  measured  terms.  Hamilton  replied,  pointing  out  the 
impossibility  of  either  acknowledging  or  denying  an  accu 
sation  so  vague,  and  analyzed  at  length  the  weakness  of 
Burr's  position  in  endeavouring  to  pick  a  quarrel  out  of 
such  raw  material.  He  said,  in  conclusion  :  — 

I  stand  ready  to  avow  or  disavow  promptly  and  explicitly  any  pre 
cise  or  definite  opinion  which  I  may  be  charged  with  having  declared 
of  any  gentleman.  More  than  this  cannot  fitly  be  expected  from  me; 
and  especially,  it  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  that  I  shall  enter  into 
an  explanation  upon  a  basis  so  vague  as  that  which  you  have  adopted. 
I  trust  on  more  reflection  you  will  see  the  matter  in  the  same  light  with 
me.  If  not  I  can  only  regret  the  circumstance  and  must  abide  the 
consequences. 

Hamilton  foresaw  the  inevitable  end,  and  commenced 
putting  his  affairs  in  order  at  once ;  but,  for  both  personal 
and  abstract  reasons,  holding  the  practice  of  duelling  in 
abhorrence,  he  was  determined  to  give  Burr  any  chance  to 
retreat,  consistent  with  his  own  self-respect.  Burr  replied 
in  a  manner  both  venomous  and  insulting,  and  Hamilton 


512  THE   CONQUEROR 

called  upon  Colonel  Pendleton,  General  Greene's  aide  dur 
ing  the  Revolution,  and  asked  him  to  act  as  his  second. 
On  the  23d  he  received  a  note  from  Van  Ness,  inquiring 
when  and  where  it  would  be  most  convenient  for  him  to 
receive  a  communication,  and  the  correspondence  there 
after  was  conducted  by  the  seconds. 

It  was  Sunday,  and  Hamilton  was  at  The  Grange,  when 
the  note  from  Van  Ness  arrived.  He  was  swinging  in  a 
hammock,  and  he  put  the  missive  in  his  pocket,  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  and  lifted  himself  on  his  elbow.  His  entire 
family,  with  the  exception  of  his  wife  and  Angelica,  were 
shouting  in  the  woods.  The  baby,  a  sturdy  youngster  of 
two,  named  for  the  brother  who  had  died  shortly  before 
his  birth,  emerged  in  a  state  of  fury.  He  had  eighty-two 
years  of  vitality  in  him,  and  he  roared  like  a  young  bull. 
Hamilton's  children  inherited  the  tough  fibre  and  the  lon 
gevity  of  the  Schuylers.  Of  the  seven  who  survived  him 
all  lived  to  old  age,  and  several  were  close  to  being  cente 
narians. 

Angelica  was  busy  in  her  aviary,  close  by.  She  was 
now  twenty,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  girls  in  the 
country,  but  successive  deaths  had  kept  her  in  seclusion ; 
and  the  world  in  which  her  parents  were  such  familiar 
figures  was  to  remember  nothing  of  her  but  her  tragedy. 
Betsey,  still  as  slim  as  her  daughter,  ran  from  the  house  at 
the  familiar  roar,  and  Gouverneur  Morris  came  dashing 
through  the  woods  with  a  half-dozen  guests,  self-invited  for 
dinner.  It  was  an  animated  day,  and  Hamilton  was  the 
life  of  the  company.  He  had  no  time  for  thought  until 
night.  His  wife  retired  early,  with  a  headache ;  the  boys 
had  subsided  even  earlier.  At  ten  o'clock  Angelica  went 
to  the  piano,  and  Hamilton  threw  himself  into  a  long  chair 
on  the  terrace  and  clasped  his  hands  behind  his  head. 

"  So,"  he  thought,  "  the  end  has  come.  My  work  is 
over,  I  suppose.  Personally,  I  am  of  no  account.  All  I 
would  have  demanded,  by  way  of  reward  for  services 
faithfully  executed,  was  the  health  to  make  a  decent  liv 
ing  and  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  peaceful  and  uninterrupted 
intimacy  with  my  family.  For  fame,  or  public  honours, 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  513 

or  brilliant  successes  of  any  sort,  I  have  ceased  to  care. 
Nothing  would  tempt  me  to  touch  the  reins  of  public 
life  again  unless  in  the  event  of  a  revolution.  I  believe 
I  have  crushed  that  possibility  with  this  election ;  other 
wise,  I  doubt  if  my  knell  would  have  sounded.  On  the 
bare  possibility  that  such  is  not  the  case,  and  that  my 
usefulness  may  not  be  neutralized  by  public  doubt  of  my 
courage,  I  must  accept  this  challenge,  whether  or  not  I 
have  sufficient  moral  courage  to  refuse  it.  I  believe  I 
have ;  but  that  is  neither  here  nor  there,  and  I  shall  fall. 
Should  I  survive,  the  sole  reason  would  be  danger  ahead. 
For  the  last  two  years  I  have  felt  myself  moving  steadily 
deathward.  By  this  abrupt  exit  I  but  anticipate  the  inevi 
table  a  year  or  two,  and  doubtless  it  seems  to  the  destiny 
that  controls  my  affairs  as  the  swiftest  way  to  dispose  of 
Burr,  and  awaken  the  country  to  the  other  dangers  that 
menace  it.  To  the  last  I  am  but  a  tool.  No  man  was  ever 
so  little  his  own  master,  so  thrust  upon  a  planet  for  the 
accomplishment  of  public  and  impersonal  ends  alone.  I 
have  been  permitted  a  certain  amount  of  domestic  felicity, 
as  my  strength  was  best  conserved  thereby,  my  mind  free 
to  concentrate  upon  public  duties.  I  was  endowed  with 
the  gift  of  fascination,  that  men  should  follow  me  without 
question,  and  this  country  be  served  with  immediate  effec 
tiveness.  I  have  received  deep  and  profound  satisfaction 
from  both  these  concessions,  but  it  would  not  matter  in  the 
least  if  I  had  not.  They  were  inevitable  with  the  equip 
ment  for  the  part  I  had  to  play.  I  have  had  an  astonish 
ing  and  conquering  career  against  the  mightiest  obstacles, 
and  I  may,  as  a  further  concession,  be  permitted  an  endur 
ing  place  in  history ;  but  that,  also,  is  by  the  way.  I  con 
quered,  not  to  gratify  my  love  of  power  and  to  win  immortal 
fame,  but  that  I  might  accomplish  the  part  for  which  I 
was  whirled  here  from  an  almost  inaccessible  island  fifteen 
hundred  miles  away  —  to  play  my  part  in  the  creation  of 
this  American  empire.  It  has  been  a  great  part,  creatively 
the  greatest  part.  The  proof  that  no  native-born  American 
could  have  played  it  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  did  not.  The 
greatest  of  her  men  have  abetted  me ;  not  one  has  sought 


5  H  THE  CONQUEROR 

to  push  me  aside  and  do  my  work.  My  only  enemies  have 
been  those  who  would  pull  my  structure  down;  the 
most  ambitious  and  individual  men  in  the  Union,  of  the 
higher  sort,  are  my  willing  followers.  To  win  them  I  never 
plotted,  nor  did  I  ever  seek  to  dazzle  and  blind  them.  Part 
of  my  equipment  was  the  power  to  convince  them  without 
effort  of  my  superior  usefulness  ;  there  was  no  time  to  lose. 
I  am  nothing  but  a  genius,  encased  in  such  human  form 
as  would  best  serve  its  purpose ;  an  atom  of  the  vast  crea 
tive  Being  beyond  the  Universe,  loaned  for  an  infinitesimal 
part  of  time  to  the  excrescence  calling  itself  The  United 
States  of  North  America,  on  the  dot  called  Earth.  Now 
the  part  is  played,  and  I  am  to  be  withdrawn.  That  my 
human  heart  is  torn  with  insupportable  anguish,  matters 
not  at  all.  I  leave  that  behind." 

Hamilton  had  been  bred  in  the  orthodox  religion  of  his 
time,  and  its  picturesqueness,  including  its  ultimates  of 
heaven  and  hell,  had  taken  firm  hold  of  his  ardent  imagi 
nation.  But  in  his  cosmic  moments  the  formulations  of 
this  planet  played  no  part. 

"  I  have  not  even  a  mother-country,"  he  thought.  "  I 
am  a  parent,  not  a  child.  My  patriotism  has  been  that  of  a 
tigress  for  her  young,  not  of  a  man  for  his  fatherland.  God 
knows  I  am  willing,  and  always  have  been,  to  die  for  this 
country,  which  is  so  much  my  own,  but  why  —  why — need 
I  have  been  made  so  human  ?  Could  I  not  have  understood 
men  as  well  ?  Could  I  not  have  performed  my  various 
part  without  loving  my  wife  and  children,  my  friends,  with 
the  deepest  tenderness  and  passion  of  which  the  human 
heart  is  capable  ?  Then  I  would  go  without  a  pang,  for  I 
am  tired,  and  death  would  be  a  relief.  But,  since  all 
humanity  was  forced  into  me,  why  should  not  I,  now  that 
I  have  faithfully  done  my  part,  be  permitted  a  few  years 
of  happiness  by  my  hearthstone  ?  " 

He  raised  his  hands  as  if  to  shut  out  the  cold  high  stars. 
He  had  had  few  bitter  moments  since  the  night,  four  years 
before,  when  he  had  deliberately  exorcised  bitterness  and 
hate ;  and  that  mellowness  had  come  to  him  which  came 
to  his  great  rivals  in  their  old  age.  But  to-night  he  let 


THE  LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  515 

the  deeps  rise.  He  ached  with  human  wants,  and  he  was 
bidden  to  work  out  his  last  act  of  service  to  the  country 
for  whose  sole  use  he  had  been  sent  to  Earth. 

He  dropped  his  hands  and  stared  at  the  worlds  above. 
"  Must  I  go  on  ?  "  he  thought.  "  Is  that  it  ?  Does  other 
work  await  me  elsewhere?  Has  the  Almighty  detached 
from  himself  a  few  creative  egos,  who  go  from  world  to 
world  and  do  their  part;  removed  the  day  their  usefulness 
is  over,  that  they  shall  not  dissipate  their  energy,  nor  live 
until  men  regard  with  slighting  wonder  the  work  of  the 
useless  old  creature  in  their  midst,  withdraw  from  it  their 
first  reverence  ?  I  go  in  the  fulness  of  my  maturity  and 
the  high  tide  of  respect  and  affection  ;  I  go  in  the  dramatic 
manner  of  my  advent,  and  my  work  will  be  a  sacred  thing ; 
—  even  my  enemies  will  not  dare  to  pull  it  down  until  such 
time  as  they  are  calm  enough  to  see  it  as  it  is  ;  and  then  the 
desire  will  have  passed.  Doubtless  all  things  are  best  and 
right.  .  .  .  Maturity  ?  I  feel  as  old  as  time  and  as  young 
as  laughter." 

He  sat  up  suddenly  and  bent  his  head.  Millions  of  tiny 
bells  were  ringing  through  the  forest.  So  low,  so  golden, 
so  remote  they  sounded,  that  they  might  have  hung  in  the 
stars  above  or  in  the  deeps  of  the  earth.  He  listened  so 
intently  for  a  moment  that  life  seemed  suspended,  and  he 
saw  neither  the  cool  dark  forest  nor  the  silver  ripple  of  the 
Hudson,  but  a  torn  and  desolate  land,  and  a  gravestone 
at  his  feet.  Then  he  passed  his  hand  over  his  forehead 
with  a  long  breath,  and  went  softly  into  the  drawing-room. 

Angelica  sat  at  the  piano,  with  her  head  thrown  back, 
her  long  fair  hair  hanging  to  the  floor.  Her  dark  eyes 
were  blank,  but  her  fingers  shook  from  the  keys  the  music 
of  a  Tropic  night.  It  was  a  music  that  Hamilton  had  not 
sent  a  thought  after  since  the  day  he  landed  in  America, 
thirty-one  years  ago.  It  had  come  to  her,  with  other 
memories,  by  direct  inheritance. 

He  went  to  the  dining  room  hastily  and  poured  out  a 
glass  of  wine.  When  he  returned,  Angelica,  as  he  ex 
pected,  was  half  lying  in  a  chair,  white  and  limp. 

"  Drink  this,"  he  said,  in  the  bright  peremptory  manner 


516  THE   CONQUEROR 

to  which  his  children  were  accustomed.  "  I  think  you  are 
not  strong  enough  yet  to  indulge  in  composition.  You 
have  grown  too  fast,  and  creation  needs  a  great  deal  of 
physical  vigour.  Now  run  to  bed,  and  forget  that  you  can 
play  a  note." 

Angelica  sipped  the  wine  obediently,  and  bade  him 
good  night  As  she  toiled  up  the  stairs  she  prayed  for 
the  physical  strength  that  would  permit  her  to  become  the 
great  musician  of  her  ambitious  dreams.  Her  prayer  was 
answered ;  the  great  strength  came  to  her,  and  her  music 
was  the  wonder  of  those  who  listened ;  but  they  were  very 
few. 

Hamilton  went  into  his  library,  prepared  to  write  until 
morning.  Bitterness  and  cosmic  curiosity  had  vanished ; 
he  was  the  practical  man,  with  a  mass  of  affairs  to  arrange 
during  the  few  days  that  were  left  to  him.  But  he  did  no 
work  that  night.  The  door-knocker  pounded  loudly.  The 
servants  had  gone  to  bed.  He  took  a  lamp,  and  unchained 
and  unlocked  the  front  door,  wondering  what  the  summons 
meant,  for  visitors  in  that  lonely  spot  were  rare  after  night 
fall.  A  woman  stood  in  the  heavy  shade  of  the  porch,  and 
behind  her  was  a  carriage.  She  wore  a  long  thin  pelisse, 
and  the  hood  was  drawn  over  her  face.  Nevertheless,  she 
hesitated  but  a  moment.  She  lifted  her  head  with  a 
motion  of  haughty  defiance  that  Hamilton  well  remem 
bered,  and  stepped  forward. 

"  It  is  I,  Hamilton,"  she  said.  "  I  have  come  to  have  a 
few  words  with  you  alone,  and  I  shall  not  leave  until  —  " 

"  Come  in,  by  all  means,"  said  Hamilton,  politely.  "  You 
were  imprudent  to  choose  such  a  dark  night,  for  the  roads 
are  dangerous.  When  you  return  I  will  send  a  servant 
ahead  of  you  with  a  lantern." 

He  led  the  way  to  the  library  and  closed  the  door  behind 
them.  Madame  Jumel  threw  off  her  cloak,  and  stood  be 
fore  him  in  the  magnificence  of  cloth  of  gold  and  many 
diamonds.  Her  neck  blazed,  and  the  glittering  tower  of 
her  hair  was  a  jewel  garden.  She  was  one  of  the  women 
for  whom  splendour  of  attire  was  conceived,  and  had 
always  looked  her  best  when  in  full  regalia.  To-night 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE  GIANTS  517 

she  was  the  most  superb  creature  that  man  had  ever  seen 
or  dreamed  of.  Even  her  great  eyes  looked  like  jewels, 
deep  and  burning  as  that  blue  jewel  of  the  West  Indies, 
the  Caribbean  Sea ;  but  her  lips  and  cheeks  were  like  soft 
pink  roses.  Hamilton  had  seen  her  many  times  since  the 
day  of  pax  ting,  for  she  went  constantly  to  the  theatre,  and 
had  been  invited  to  the  larger  receptions  until  her  reckless 
Jacobinism  had  put  the  final  touch  to  the  disapproval  of 
Federal  dames ;  but  he  had  never  seen  her  in  such  beauty 
as  she  was  to-night.  Eleven  years  had  perfected  this 
beauty,  taken  from  it  nothing.  He  sighed,  and  the  past 
rose  for  a  moment ;  but  it  seemed  a  century  behind  him. 

"  Will  you  not  sit  down  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Can  I  fetch  you 
a  glass  of  wine  ?  I  remember  you  never  liked  it,  but  per 
haps,  after  so  long  a  drive  — 

"  I  do  not  wish  any  wine,"  said  Madame  Jumel,  shortly. 
She  was  nonplussed  by  this  matter-of-fact  acceptance  of  a 
situation  which  she  had  intended  should  be  intensely  dra 
matic.  She  was  not  yet  gone,  however. 

"  No  one  ever  could  get  the  best  of  you,  Hamilton,"  she 
exclaimed.  "  I  have  come  here  to-night  —  how  terribly 
delicate  you  look,"  she  faltered,  with  a  sudden  pallor.  "  I 
have  not  seen  you  for  so  long  —  " 

"  My  health  does  not  give  me  the  least  concern,"  said 
Hamilton,  hurriedly,  wondering  if  he  could  lay  his  hand 
on  a  bottle  of  smelling-salts  without  awaking  his  wife. 
"  Pray  go  on.  To  what  am  I  indebted  for  the  honour  of 
this  visit  ? " 

Madame  Jumel  rose  and  swept  up  and  down  the  long 
room  twice.  "  Can  there  be  anything  in  that  tale  of  royal 
blood  ? "  thought  Hamilton.  "  Or  in  that  other  tale  of 
equally  distinguished  parentage  ?  " 

She  had  paused  with  her  back  to  him,  facing  one  of  the 
bookcases. 

"  Classics,  classics,  classics  !  "  she  exclaimed,  in  a  voice 
which  grew  steadier  as  she  proceeded.  "  That  was  the 
only  taste  we  did  not  share.  Don  Quixote  in  Spanish, 
Dante  and  Alfieri  in  Italian;  and  all  the  German  brutes. 
Ah  !  Voltaire  !  Rousseau  !  What  superb  editions  !  No 


5i8  THE   CONQUEROR 

one  can  bind  but  the  French.  And  the  dear  old  Moniteur 
—  all  bound  for  posterity,  which  will  never  look  at  it." 

She  returned  and  stood  before  him,  and  she  was  quite 
composed. 

"I  came  to  tell  you,"  she  said,  "that  when  you  die,  it 
will  be  by  the  hand  of  my  deputy.  I  tell  you  because 
I  am  determined  that  your  last  earthly  thought  shall  be 
of  me." 

"  Cherchez  la  femme — toujours  !  Why  are  you  doing 
this  ? "  he  asked  curiously.  "  You  no  longer  love  me, 
and  your  hate  should  have  worn  out  long  since." 

"  Neither  my  hate  nor  my  love  has  ceased  for  a  second. 
I  married  Jumel  for  these  jewels,  for  the  courts  of  Europe, 
for  a  position  in  this  country  which  the  mighty  Schuylers 
cannot  take  from  me  again.  But  I  would  fly  with  you 
to-morrow,  and  live  with  you  in  a  hole  under  ground.  I 
came  to  make  no  such  proposal,  however ;  I  know  that 
you  would  sacrifice  even  your  family  to  your  honour,  and 
everything  else  in  life  to  them.  For  years  I  waited,  hop 
ing  that  you  would  suddenly  come  back  to  me,  hating  you 
and  injuring  you  in  every  way  my  Jacobinism  could  devise, 
but  ready  to  wipe  your  shoes  with  my  hair  the  moment 
you  appeared.  Now  the  hard  work  of  your  life  is  over. 
You  look  forward  to  years  of  happiness  with  your  family 
on  this  beautiful  estate,  while  I  am  married  to  a  silly  old 
Frenchman  —  who,  however,  has  brought  me  my  final  means 
of  revenge.  I  know  you  well.  You  would  rather  be  alive 
now  than  at  any  time  of  your  life.  Well,  you  shall  go. 
And  I  would  pray,  if  that  were  my  habit,  that  into  these 
last  days  you  may  condense  all  the  agonies  of  parting 
from  those  you  love  that  I  have  ached  and  raged  through 
in  these  eleven  long  years." 

"  God  knows  I  have  bitterly  regretted  that  you  should 
suffer  for  my  passions.  And,  if  it  is  any  satisfaction  to 
you,  I  go  unwillingly,  and  the  parting  will  be  very  bitter." 

She  drew  a  sharp  breath,  and  flung  her  head  about. 
"  One  cannot  triumph  over  you  !  "  she  cried.  "  Why  was 
I  such  a  fool  as  to  come  here  to-night  ?  My  imagination 
would  have  served  me  better." 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  519 

"  Is  it  French  money  ?  "  asked  Hamilton. 

"Yes,  but  I  alone  am  responsible.  We  handle  immense 
sums,  and  its  disposal  is  left  to  our  discretion.  This  will 
be  distasteful  neither  to  France  nor  Virginia,  —  I  suppose 
I  may  have  Louisiana,  if  I  want  it !  —  but  I  am  no  man's 
agent  in  this  matter." 

"  You  are  magnificent !  It  is  quite  like  you  to  disdain 
to  share  your  terrible  responsibility.  I  can  lighten  it  a 
little.  I  shall  not  shoot  Burr." 

"  I  should  rather  you  did.  Still,  it  does  not  matter. 
He  will  be  disposed  of,  and  I  shall  lead  the  hue  and  cry." 

"  You  are  young  to  be  so  brutal.  Will  your  conscience 
never  torment  you  ?  " 

"  I  have  too  much  brain  to  submit  to  conscience,  and 
you  know  it.  I  shall  suffer  the  torments  of  the  damned, 
but  not  from  conscience.  But  I  would  rather  suffer  with 
you  out  of  the  world  than  in  it.  I  have  stood  that  as  long 
as  a  mere  mortal  can  stand  anything.  Revenge  is  not  my 
only  motive.  Either  you  or  I  must  go,  and  as  I  have  now 
found  the  means  of  boundless  distraction,  I  live.  I  have 
been  on  the  point  of  killing  myself  and  you  more  than 
once.  But  my  power  to  injure  you  gave  me  an  exquisite 
satisfaction ;  and  then,  I  always  hoped.  Now  the  time  for 
the  period  has  come."  Her  chin  sank  to  her  neck,  and 
she  stared  at  him  until  her  eyes  filled.  "  Do  you  love 
them  so  much  more  than  you  ever  loved  me? "  she  asked 
wistfully. 

Hamilton  turned  away  his  head.     "Yes,"  he  said. 

She  drew  a  long  shivering  breath.  "  Ah ! "  she  said. 
"  You  are  a  frail  shadow  of  yourself.  You  have  no  pas 
sion  in  you.  And  yet,  even  as  you  are,  I  would  fling  these 
jewels  into  the  river,  and  live  with  you  until  you  died  in 
my  arms.  You  may  think  me  a  monster,  if  you  like,  but 
you  shall  die  knowing  that  your  wife  does  not  love  you  as 
I  do." 

Hamilton  leaned  forward  and  dried  her  tears.  "  Say 
that  you  forgive  me,"  she  said ;  for  audacity  was  ever  a 
part  of  genius. 

"  Yes,"  he  said  grimly,  "  I  forgive  you.     You  and  Bona- 


520  THE  CONQUEROR 

parte  are  the  two  magnificent  products  of  the  French  Revo 
lution.  I  am  sorry  you  are  not  more  of  a  philosopher,  but, 
so  far  as  I  alone  am  concerned,  I  regret  nothing." 

"  Oh,  men  !  "  she  exclaimed,  with  scorn.  "  They  are 
always  philosophers  when  they  are  no  longer  in  love 
with  a  woman.  But  you  will  give  me  your  last  con 
scious  moment  ? " 

"  No,"  he  said  deliberately,  "  I  shall  not." 

She  sprang  to  her  feet.  "You  will!  Thank  you  for 
saying  that,  though !  I  was  about  to  grovel  at  your  feet. 
Take  me  to  my  coach !  What  a  fool  I  was  to  come  here ! " 
She  seized  her  pelisse,  and  wound  it  about  her  as  she  ran 
down  the  hall.  Hamilton  followed,  insisting  that  she  give 
him  time  to  awaken  a  servant.  But  she  would  not  heed. 
She  flung  herself  into  her  coach,  and  called  to  the  driver 
to  gallop  his  horses,  unless  he  wished  to  lose  his  place  on 
the  morrow.  Hamilton  stood  on  the  porch,  listening  to 
the  wild  flight  down  the  rough  hill  through  the  forest. 
But  it  was  unbroken,  so  long  as  he  could  hear  anything, 
and  he  laughed  suddenly  and  entered  the  house. 

"  The  high  farce  of  tragedy,"  he  thought.  "  Probably  a 
mosquito  will  settle  on  Burr's  nose  as  he  fires,  and  my  life 
be  spared." 


The  challenge  was  delivered  on  Wednesday.  Hamilton 
refused  to  withdraw  his  services  from  his  clients  in  the 
midst  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and  July  nth,  a  fortnight  later, 
was  appointed  for  the  meeting.  When  Hamilton  was  not 
busy  with  the  important  interests  confided  to  him  by  his 
clients,  he  arranged  his  own  affairs,  and  drew  up  a  docu 
ment  for  publication,  in  the  event  of  his  death,  in  which 
he  stated  that  he  had  criticised  Burr  freely  for  years,  but 
added  that  he  bore  him  no  ill-will,  that  his  opposition  had 
been  for  public  reasons  only,  that  his  impressions  of  Burr 
were  entertained  with  sincerity,  and  had  been  uttered  with 
motives  and  for  purposes  which  appeared  to  himself  com 
mendable.  He  announced  his  intention  to  throw  away  his 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  521 

fire,  and  gave  this  reason  for  yielding  to  a  custom  which  he 
had  held  in  avowed  abhorrence  :  "The  ability  to  be  in  fu 
ture  useful,  whether  in  resisting  mischief  or  effecting  good, 
in  those  crises  of  our  public  affairs  which  seem  likely  to 
happen,  would  probably  be  inseparable  from  a  conformity 
with  public  prejudice  in  this  particular." 

Burr  spent  several  hours  of  each  day  in  pistol  practice, 
using  the  cherry  trees  of  Richmond  Hill  as  targets.  Thur- 
low  Weed,  in  his  "  Autobiography,"  has  told  of  Burr's  tes 
tament,  written  on  the  night  before  the  duel.  Having 
neither  money  nor  lands,  but  an  infinitude  of  debts,  to  be 
queath  his  daughter,  he  left  her  a  bundle  of  compromis 
ing  letters  from  women.  The  writers  moved  in  circles 
where  virtue  was  held  in  esteem,  and  several  were  of  the 
world  of  fashion.  They  had,  with  the  instinct  of  self- 
defence,  which  animates  women  even  in  that  stage  where 
they  idealize  the  man,  omitted  to  sign  their  names.  Burr 
supplied  the  omission  in  every  case  and  added  the  present 
address.  That  Hamilton  would  throw  away  his  fire  was  a 
possibility  remote  from  the  best  effort  of  Burr's  imagina 
tion,  and  although  he  knew  that  no  one  could  fire  more 
quickly  than  himself,  he  was  not  the  man  to  go  to  the 
ground  unprepared  for  emergencies :  if  his  daughter,  now 
Mrs.  Alston,  would  obey  his  hint  and  blackmail,  she  might 
realize  a  pretty  fortune.  That  Theodosia  Burr,  even  with 
the  incentive  of  poverty,  would  have  sunk  to  such  igno 
miny,  no  one  who  knows  the  open  history  of  her  short  life 
will  believe  ;  but  the  father,  whose  idol  she  was,  insulted 
her  and  stained  her  memory,  too  depraved  and  warped  to 
understand  nobility  in  anyone,  least  of  all  in  one  of  his 
own  blood.  In  the  study  of  lost  souls  Burr  has  appealed 
to  many  analysts,  and  by  no  one  has  been  made  so  attrac 
tive  as  by  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe ;  who,  knowing  naught 
by  experience  of  men  of  the  world,  either  idealized  them 
as  interesting  villains  or  transformed  them  into  beasts. 
In  Burr  she  saw  the  fallen  angel,  and  bedewed  him  with 
many  Christian  tears.  But  I  doubt  if  Burr,  the  inner  and 
real  Burr,  had  far  to  fall.  His  visible  divergence  from 
first  conditions  was  as  striking  as,  no  doubt,  it  was  natural. 


522  THE   CONQUEROR 

As  the  grandson  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  son  of  the  Rev 
erend  Aaron  Burr,  and  reared  by  relatives  of  that  same 
morbid,  hideous,  unhuman  school  of  early  New  England 
theology,  it  only  needed  a  wayward  nature  in  addition  to 
brain  and  spirit  to  send  him  flying  on  his  own  tangent  as 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  think.  After  that  his  con 
genital  selfishness  did  the  rest.  For  a  time  he  climbed  the 
hill  of  prizes  very  steadily,  taking,  once  in  a  way,  a  flight, 
swift  as  an  arrow :  in  addition  to  great  ability  at  the  bar, 
and  a  cunning  which  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  talent,  he  was 
handsome,  magnetic,  well-bred,  and  polished,  studied  women 
with  the  precision  of  a  vivisectionist,  assumed  emotions 
and  impulses  he  could  not  feel  with  such  dexterity  that 
even  men  yielded  to  his  fascination  until  they  plumbed  him  ; 
had  in  fact  many  of  the  fleeting  kindly  instincts  to  which 
every  mortal  is  subject  who  is  made  of  flesh  and  blood,  or 
comes  of  a  stock  that  has  been  bred  to  certain  ideals. 
Every  wretch  has  a  modicum  of  good  in  him,  and  in  spite 
of  the  preponderance  of  evil  in  Burr,  had  he  been  born 
under  kindly  Southern  skies  with  a  gold  spoon  in  his  mouth, 
if,  when  ambitions  developed,  he  had  had  but  to  stretch 
out  his  hand  to  pluck  the  prizes  of  life,  instead  of  exercis 
ing  the  basest  talents  of  his  brain  to  overreach  more  fortu 
nate  men,  why  it  is  possible  that  his  nature  might  not  have 
hardened  into  a  glacier :  its  visible  third  dazzling  and  sym 
metrical,  its  deadly  bulk  skulking  below  the  surface  of  the 
waters  which  divided  the  two  parts  of  him  from  his  vic 
tims;  might  have  died  in  the  chaste  reclusion  of  an  an 
cestral  four-poster,  beneficiaries  at  his  side.  But  that 
immalleable  mind  lacked  the  strong  fibre  of  logic  and  fore 
sight  —  which  is  all  that  moral  force  amounts  to  —  that 
lifts  a  man  triumphant  above  his  worst  temptations ;  and 
he  paid  the  bitter  and  hideous  penalty  in  a  poverty,  lone 
liness,  and  living  death  that  would  have  moved  the  theo 
logians  of  his  blood  to  the  uneasy  suspicion  that  punishment 
is  of  this  earth,  a  logical  sequence  of  foolish  and  short 
sighted  acts.  Both  men  and  women  are  allowed  a  great 
latitude  in  this  world ;  they  have  little  to  complain  of. 
It  is  only  when  the  brain  fails  in  its  part,  or  the  char- 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS           523 

acter  is  gradually  undermined  by  lying  and  dishonour, 
that  the  inevitable  sequence  is  some  act  which  arouses  the 
indignation  of  society  or  jerks  down  the  iron  fist  of  the  law. 
When  Burr  took  to  the  slope  he  slid  with  few  haltings. 
In  his  long  life  of  plottings  and  failures,  from  his  sympa 
thy  with  the  Conway  Cabal  to  his  desperate  old  age,  there 
were  no  depths  of  blackguardism  that  he  did  not  touch. 
Whether  Madame  Jumel  spoke  the  truth  or  not  to  Hamil 
ton  on  that  night  of  their  last  interview,  it  was  entirely  in 
keeping  with  his  life  and  character  that  he  should  kill  for 
hire. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati 
gave  its  annual  dinner.  This  society,  then  the  most  dis 
tinguished  in  the  Union,  and  membered  by  men  who  had 
fought  in  the  War  of  Independence,  had,  upon  the  death 
of  Washington,  their  first  President,  elected  Hamilton  to 
the  vacant  office.  He  presided  at  this  banquet,  and  never 
had  appeared  nor  felt  happier.  Not  only  did  that  pecul 
iar  exaltation  which  precedes  certain  death  possess  him, 
as  it  possesses  all  men  of  mettle  and  brain  in  a  like  condi 
tion,  but  the  philosophy  which  had  been  born  in  him  and 
ruled  his  imagination  through  life  had  shrugged  its  shoul 
ders  and  accepted  the  inevitable.  Hamilton  knew  that  his 
death  warrant  had  been  signed  above,  and  he  no  longer 
experienced  a  regret,  although  he  had  often  felt  depressed 
and  martyred  when  obliged  to  go  to  the  courts  of  Albany 
and  leave  his  family  behind  him.  He  had  lost  interest  in 
his  body ;  his  spirit,  ever,  by  far,  the  strongest  and  the 
dominant  part  of  him,  seemed  already  struggling  for  its 
freedom,  arrogant  and  blithe  as  it  approached  its  final 
triumph.  There  is  nothing  in  all  life  so  selfish  as  death; 
and  the  colossal  ego  which  genius  breeds  or  is  bred  out 
of,  isolated  Hamilton  even  more  completely  than  immi 
nent  death  isolates  most  men.  The  while  he  gave  every 
moment  he  could  spare  to  planning  the  future  comfort 
and  welfare  of  his  family,  he  felt  as  if  he  had  already  bade 
them  farewell,  and  wondered  when  and  how  he  should  meet 
them  again. 


524  THE   CONQUEROR 

At  this  gathering  he  was  so  gay  and  sportive  that  he  in 
fected  the  great  company,  and  it  was  the  most  hilarious  ban 
quet  in  the  society's  history.  The  old  warriors  sighed,  and 
wondered  at  his  eternal  youth.  When  he  sprang  upon  the 
table  and  sang  his  old  camp-song,  "The  Drum,"  he  looked 
the  boy  they  remembered  at  Valley  Forge  and  Morristown. 
There  was  only  one  member  of  the  company  who  was  un- 
electrified  by  the  gay  abandon  of  the  evening,  and  his 
sombre  appearance  was  so  marked  in  contrast  that  it  was 
widely  commented  on  afterward.  Burr  frequently  leaned 
forward  and  stared  at  Hamilton  in  amazement.  As  the 
hilarity  waxed,  his  taciturnity  deepened,  and  he  finally  with 
drew. 

The  secret  was  well  kept.  Few  knew  of  the  projected 
meeting,  and  none  suspected  it,  although  Burr's  pistol 
practice  aroused  some  curiosity.  He  had  been  a  princi 
pal  in  a  number  of  duels,  and  killed  no  one.  But  he  was 
known  to  have  more  than  one  bitter  score  to  pay,  for  this 
last  campaign  had  exceeded  every  other  in  heat  and  fury. 
So  many  duels  had  studded  it,  and  so  many  more  impended, 
that  the  thinking  men  of  the  community  were  roused  to  a 
deep  disapproval  of  the  custom.  The  excitement  and  hor 
ror  over  the  sacrifice  of  Hamilton,  full-blew  this  sentiment. 

On  Saturday,  Hamilton  gave  a  dinner  at  the  Grange, 
and  a  guest  was  one  of  Washington's  first  aides,  Colonel 
Trumbull.  As  he  was  leaving,  Hamilton  took  him  aside 
and  said,  with  an  emphasis  which  impressed  Trumbull  even 
at  the  moment :  "  You  are  going  to  Boston.  You  will  see 
the  principal  men  there.  Tell  them  from  me,  as  my  re 
quest,  for  God's  sake  to  cease  these  conversations  and 
threatings  about  a  separation  of  the  Union.  It  must  hang 
together  as  long  as  it  can  be  made  to.  If  this  Union  were 
to  be  broken,  it  would  break  my  heart." 

The  following  day  preceded  the  duel.  Hamilton  at 
tended  an  entertainment  given  by  Oliver  Wolcott,  whose 
fortunes  he  had  made,  raising  the  capital  of  a  business 
that  could  be  presided  over  by  no  one  so  well  as  a  former 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It  was  a  large  reception,  and 
he  met  many  of  his  old  friends.  Lady  Kitty  Duer,  wid- 


THE   LAST   BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  525 

owed,  but  pleasantly  circumstanced,  was  there,  and  Kitty 
Livingston,  once  more  bearing  her  old  name  in  a  second 
marriage.  Bitter  as  the  feeling  between  her  house  and 
Hamilton  still  was,  she  had  declared  long  since  that  she 
would  not  cut  him  again ;  and  although  they  never  met  in 
private,  they  often  retired  to  a  secluded  corner  at  gather 
ings  and  talked  for  an  hour.  His  first  reason  for  attend 
ing  this  reception  was  to  shake  her  hand  as  they  parted. 
Madame  Jumel  was  there,  paling  the  loveliness  of  even  the 
young  daughters  of  Mrs.  Jay  and  Lady  Kitty  Duer. 
Those  who  did  not  mob  about  Hamilton  surrounded  her, 
and  although  her  cheek  was  without  colour,  she  looked 
serene  and  scornful. 

After  the  reception  Hamilton  spent  an  hour  with 
Troup.  This  oldest  of  his  friends,  and  Angelica,  were  the 
only  people  whose  suspicion  he  feared.  Troup  was  quite 
capable  of  wringing  Burr's  neck,  and  his  daughter  of 
taking  some  other  desperate  measure.  But  it  was  long 
now  since  he  had  given  Angelica  reason  for  anxiety,  and 
she  had  ceased  to  watch  him ;  and  to-day,  Troup,  whom  he 
had  avoided  hitherto,  was  treated  to  such  a  flow  of  spirits 
that  he  not  only  suspected  nothing,  but  allowed  himself 
to  hope  that  Hamilton's  health  was  mending.  Hamilton 
dared  not  even  hold  his  hand  longer  than  usual  at  part 
ing,  although  he  longed  to  embrace  him. 

That  night,  in  the  late  seclusion  of  his  library,  Hamilton 
wrote  two  letters  to  his  wife,  in  one  of  which  he  recom 
mended  Mrs.  Mitchell  to  her  care ;  then  the  following  to 
Sedgwick,  still  a  close  friend,  and  probably  the  most  influ 
ential  man  in  New  England  :  — 

NEW  YORK,  July  loth,  1804. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  received  two  letters  from  you  since  we 
last  saw  each  other  —  that  of  the  latest  date  being  the  twenty-fourth  of 
May.  I  have  had  on  hand  for  some  time  a  long  letter  to  you,  explain 
ing  my  view  of  the  course  and  tendency  of  our  politics,  and  my  inten 
tions  as  to  my  own  future  conduct.  But  my  plan  embraced  so  large  a 
range,  that,  owing  to  much  avocation,  some  indifferent  health,  and  a 
growing  distaste  for  politics,  the  letter  is  still  considerably  short  of 
being  finished.  I  write  this  now  to  satisfy  you  that  want  of  regard  for 
you  has  not  been  the  cause  of  my  silence. 


526  THE   CONQUEROR 

1  will  here  express  but  one  sentiment,  which  is,  that  DISMEMBERMENT 
of  our  EMPIRE  will  be  a  clear  sacrifice  of  great  positive  advantages,  with 
out  any  counterbalancing  good ;  administering  no  relief  to  our  real 
disease,  which  is  DEMOCRACY  ;  the  poison  of  which,  by  a  subdivision, 
will  only  be  the  more  concentrated  in  each  part,  and  consequently  the 
more  virulent.  King  is  on  his  way  to  Boston  where  you  may  chance  to 
see  him,  and  hear  from  himself  his  sentiments.  God  bless  you. 

A.  H. 

As  he  folded  and  sealed  the  letter  he  suddenly  realized 
that  the  act  was  the  final  touch  to  the  order  of  his  earthly 
affairs,  and  he  lifted  his  hand  as  though  to  see  if  it  were 
still  alive.  "  To-morrow  night !  "  he  thought.  "  Well,  now 
that  the  hour  has  come,  I  go  willingly  enough.  I  have 
been  permitted  to  live  my  life ;  why  should  I  murmur  ? 
There  has  been  sufficient  crowded  into  my  forty-seven 
years  to  cover  a  century.  I  have  been  permitted  to  play 
a  great  part  in  history,  to  patch  together  a  nation  out  of 
broken  limbs  and  inform  it  with  a  brain.  It  is  right  that 
I  should  regard  myself  in  this  final  hour  as  a  statesman 
and  nothing  more,  and  that  I  should  go  without  protest, 
now  that  I  have  no  more  to  do.  I  can  only  be  deeply  and 
profoundly  thankful  that  out  of  three  millions  of  Amer 
icans  I  was  selected,  that  I  have  conquered  in  spite  of  all 
obstacles,  and  remained  until  I  have  nothing  more  to  give. 
It  is  entirely  right  and  fitting  that  I  should  die  as  I  have 
lived,  in  the  service  of  this  country.  Only  a  sacrifice  can 
bring  these  distracted  States  to  reason  and  eliminate  the 
man  most  dangerous  to  their  peace.  If  I  have  been  chosen 
for  this  great  part,  I  should  be  unworthy  indeed  if  I 
rebelled." 

XI 

Hamilton  crossed  the  river  to  Weehawken  at  seven  the 
next  morning.  He  was  accompanied  by  Pendleton,  and 
his  surgeon,  Dr.  Hosack.  It  was  already  very  hot.  The 
river  and  the  woods  of  the  Jersey  palisades  were  dim 
under  a  sultry  blue  haze.  There  was  a  swell  on  the  river, 
and  Pendleton  was  very  sick.  Hamilton  held  his  head 
with  some  humour,  then  pointed  out  the  great  beauty  of 


THE  LAST  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS  527 

the  Hudson  and  its  high  rugged  banks,  to  distract  the 
unhappy  second's  mind. 

"The  majesty  of  this  river,"  he  said,  "its  suggestion  of 
a  vast  wild  country  almost  unknown  to  the  older  civiliza 
tions,  and  yet  peopled  with  the  unembodied  spirits  of  a 
new  and  mighty  race,  quicked  my  unborn  patriotism,  un 
consciously  nourished  it  until  its  delivery  in  Boston." 

"  It  would  have  curdled  mine,"  said  Pendleton.  "Who 
knows  —  if  you  had  been  of  a  bilious  temperament,  the 
face  of  our  history  might  wear  a  pug  nose  and  a  weak 
chin." 

Hamilton  laughed.  "  It  never  could  have  done  that 
while  Washington's  profile  was  stamped  on  the  popular 
fancy.  But  lesser  causes  than  seasickness  have  deter 
mined  a  man's  career.  Perhaps  to  my  immunity  I  owe 
the  fact  that  I  am  not  a  book-worm  on  St.  Croix.  If  I 
had  even  once  felt  as  you  did  just  now,  my  dear  Pendleton, 
I  should  never  have  set  sail  for  America." 

"Thank  God!"  said  Pendleton.  They  were  beaching. 
A  moment  later  he  and  Hamilton  had  climbed  to  the  ledge 
where  Burr  and  Van  Ness  awaited  them.  It  was  the  core 
of  a  thick  grove,  secluded  from  the  opposite  shore  and 
from  the  high  summit  of  the  great  palisade. 

Hamilton  and  Burr  nodded  pleasantly.  The  men  were 
dressed  in  the  silken  finery  of  their  time,  and  looked  like 
a  pleasuring  quartette  in  that  green  and  lovely  spot. 
Through  leafy  windows  they  saw  the  blue  Hudson,  the 
spires  and  manor-houses,  the  young  city,  on  the  Island. 
The  image  of  Philip  rose  to  Hamilton,  but  he  commanded 
it  aside. 

Pendleton  had  the  choice  of  position  and  was  to  give  the 
word.  He  had  brought  with  him  John  Church's  pistols, 
now  in  their  fourth  duel.  Their  first  adventure  caused  the 
flight  of  Church  to  America.  Since  then,  they  had  been 
used  in  his  duel  with  Burr  and  by  Philip  Hamilton. 

He  handed  one  of  the  pistols  to  Hamilton,  and  asked 
him  if  he  should  set  the  hair-spring. 

"  No,  not  this  time,"  said  Hamilton. 

Pendleton  gave  the  word.     Burr  raised  his  arm,  deliber- 


528  THE   CONQUEROR 

ately  took  aim,  and  fired.  Hamilton  lifted  himself  me 
chanically  to  the  tips  of  his  feet,  turned  sideways,  and  fell 
on  his  face.  His  pistol  went  off,  and  Pendleton's  eye 
involuntarily  followed  the  direction  of  the  ball,  which  sev 
ered  a  leaf  in  its  flight.  Often  afterward  he  spoke  of  the 
impression  the  cloven  leaf  made  on  him,  a  second  of  dis 
traction  at  which  he  caught  eagerly  before  he  bent  over 
Hamilton.  Hosack  scrambled  up  the  bank,  and  Burr, 
covered  with  an  umbrella  by  Van  Ness,  hastily  withdrew. 

Hamilton  was  half  sitting,  encircled  by  Pendleton's  arm, 
when  the  surgeon  reached  the  spot.  His  face  was  gray. 
He  muttered,  "  This  is  a  mortal  wound,"  then  lost  con 
sciousness.  Hosack  ascertained,  after  a  slight  examina 
tion,  that  the  ball  was  in  a  vital  part,  and  for  a  few 
moments  he  thought  that  Hamilton  was  dead ;  he  did  not 
breathe,  nor  was  any  motion  of  heart  or  pulse  perceptible. 
With  Pendleton's  assistance,  Hosack  carried  him  down  the 
bank  and  placed  him  in  the  barge.  William  Bayard  had 
offered  his  house  in  case  of  disaster,  and  the  boat  was  pro 
pelled  over  to  the  foot  of  Grand  Street  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible.  Before  reaching  the  shore  the  surgeon  succeeded 
in  reviving  Hamilton,  who  suddenly  opened  his  eyes. 

"  My  vision  is  indistinct,"  he  said.  In  a  moment  it  grew 
stronger,  and  his  eye  fell  on  the  case  of  pistols.  His  own 
was  lying  on  the  top.  "  Take  care  of  that  pistol,"  he  said. 
"  It  is  undischarged  and  still  cocked.  Pendleton  knows 
that  I  did  not  intend  to  fire  at  him."  He  closed  his  eyes, 
and  said  nothing  further  except  to  enquire  the  state  of  his 
pulse,  and  to  remark  that  his  lower  extremities  had  lost  all 
feeling.  As  the  boat  reached  the  pier,  he  directed  that  his 
wife  and  children  be  sent  for  at  once,  and  that  hope  be 
given  them.  Bayard  was  standing  on  the  shore  in  a  state 
of  violent  agitation.  It  was  in  these  pleasant  grounds  of 
his  that  the  great  banquet  had  been  given  to  Hamilton 
after  the  Federalists  had  celebrated  their  leader's  victory  at 
Poughkeepsie,  and  he  had  been  his  friend  and  supporter 
during  the  sixteen  years  that  had  followed. 

Hamilton  was  placed  in  bed  on  the  lower  floor  of  Ba 
yard's  house ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  laudanum  that  was  liber- 


5*9 

ally  administered,  his  sufferings  were  almost  intolerable. 
His  children  were  not  admitted  to  the  room  for  some  time, 
but  his  wife  could  not  be  kept  from  him.  She  knew  noth 
ing  of  the  duel,  but  she  saw  that  he  was  dying ;  and  the 
suddenness  and  horror,  the  end  of  her  earthly  happiness, 
drove  her  frantic.  She  shrieked  and  raved  until  Hamilton 
was  obliged  to  rouse  himself  and  attempt  to  calm  her. 
The  children  were  huddled  in  the  next  room,  and  when 
the  pain  subsided  for  a  time,  they  were  brought  in.  Ham 
ilton's  eyes  were  closed.  When  he  was  told  that  his  chil 
dren  were  beside  his  bed,  he  did  not- open  them  at  once. 
In  those  moments  he  forgot  everything  but  the  agony  of 
parting.  Finally,  he  lifted  his  heavy  eyelids.  The  children 
stood  there,  the  younger  clinging  to  the  older,  shivering 
and  staring  in  terror.  Hamilton  gave  them  one  look,  then 
closed  his  eyes  and  did  not  open  them  again  for  several 
moments.  As  the  children  were  led  from  the  room,  one 
of  the  boys  fainted. 

Through  Hamilton's  heavy  brain  an  idea  forced  itself, 
and  finally  took  possession.  Angelica  had  not  stood  in  that 
little  group.  He  opened  his  eyes,  half  expecting  that  which 
he  saw  —  Angelica  leaning  over  the  foot-board,  her  face 
gray  and  shrunken,  her  eyes  full  of  astonishment  and 
horror. 

"  Are  you  going  to  die  — to  die  ? "  she  asked  him. 

"  Yes,"  said  Hamilton.  He  was  too  exhausted  to  console 
or  counsel  submission. 

"  To  die  !  "  she  repeated.  "  To  die  !  "  She  reiterated 
the  words  until  her  voice  died  away  in  a  mumble.  Ham 
ilton  was  insensible  for  the  moment  to  the  physical  tor 
ments  which  were  sending  out  their  criers  again,  and 
watched  her  changed  face  with  an  apprehension,  which, 
mercifully,  his  mind  was  too  confused  by  pain  and 
laudanum  to  formulate.  Angelica  suddenly  gripped  the 
foot-board  with  such  force  that  the  bed  shook ;  her  eyes 
expanded  with  horror  only,  and  she  cowered  as  if  a  whip 
cracked  above  her  neck.  Then  she  straightened  herself, 
laughed  aloud,  and  ran  out  of  the  room.  Hamilton,  at 
the  moment,  was  in  the  throes  of  an  excruciating  spasm, 

2M 


530  THE   CONQUEROR 

and  was  spared  this  final  agony  in  his  harsh  and  untimely 
death.  Angelica  was  hurried  from  the  house  to  a  private 
asylum.  She  lived  to  be  seventy-eight,  but  she  never  re 
covered  her  reason. 

Meanwhile,  the  grounds  without  were  crowded  with  the 
friends  of  the  dying  man,  —  many  of  them  old  soldiers,  — • 
who  stood  through  the  night  awaiting  the  end.  Busi 
ness  in  New  York  was  entirely  suspended.  The  popu 
lace  had  arisen  in  fury  at  the  first  announcement  on 
the  bulletin  boards,  and  Burr  was  in  hiding  lest  he  be 
torn  to  pieces. 

Hamilton  slept  little,  and  talked  to  his  wife  whenever  he 
succeeded  in  calming  her.  Her  mental  sufferings  nearly 
deprived  her  of  health  and  reason ;  but  she  lived  a  half 
a  century  longer,  attaining  the  great  age  of  ninety-seven. 
It  was  a  sheltered  and  placid  old  age,  warm  with  much 
devotion  ;  her  mind  remained  firm  until  the  end.  Did  the 
time  come  when  she  thought  of  Hamilton  as  one  of  the 
buried  children  of  her  youth  ? 

Troup,  Fish,  Wolcott,  Gouverneur  Morris,  Rufus  King, 
Bayard,  Matthew  Clarkson,  some  twenty  of  Hamilton's  old 
friends,  were  admitted  to  the  death  room  for  a  moment. 
He  could  not  speak,  but  he  smiled  faintly.  Then  his  eyes 
wandered  to  the  space  behind  them.  He  fancied  he  saw 
the  shadowy  forms  of  the  many  friends  who  had  preceded 
him :  Laurens,  Tilghman,  Harrison,  Greene,  Andre,  Ster 
ling,  Duane,  Duer  Steuben,  —  Washington.  They  looked 
at  him  as  affectionately  as  the  living,  but  without  tears  or 
the  rigid  features  of  extremest  grief.  It  is  a  terrible  expres 
sion  to  see  on  the  faces  of  men  long  intimate  with  life,  and 
Hamilton  closed  his  eyes,  withdrawing  his  last  glance  from 
Morris  and  Troup. 

Of  whom  did  Hamilton  think  in  those  final  moments  ? 
Not  of  Eliza  Croix,  we  may  be  sure.  Her  hold  had  been 
too  superficial.  Perhaps  not  even  of  Elizabeth  Schuyler, 
although  he  had  loved  her  long  and  deeply.  What  more 
probable  than  that  his  last  hour  was  filled  with  a  profound 
consciousness  of  the  isolation  in  which  his  soul  had  passed 
its  mortal  tarrying  ?  Surrounded,  worshipped,  counting  more 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  531 

intimate  friends  sincerely  loved  than  any  man  of  his  time, 
gay,  convivial,  too  active  for  many  hours  of  introspection,  no 
mortal  could  ever  have  stood  more  utterly  alone  than  Ham 
ilton.  Whether  or  not  the  soul  is  given  a  sentient  im 
mortality  we  have  no  means  of  discovering,  but  the  most 
commonplace  being  is  aware  of  that  ego  which  has  its 
separate  existence  in  his  brain,  and  is  like  to  no  other  ego 
on  earth ;  and  those  who  think  realize  its  inability  to  mingle 
with  another.  Hamilton,  with  his  unmortal  gifts,  his  un 
sounded  depths,  must  have  felt  this  isolation  in  all  its 
tragic  completeness.  There  may  have  been  moments  when 
the  soul  of  Washington  or  Laurens  brushed  his  own. 
Assuredly  no  woman  companioned  it  for  a  fraction  of  a 
second.  Whatever  his  last  thoughts,  no  man  has  met  his 
end  with  more  composure. 

He  died  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

XII 

The  humour  and  vivacity  which  had  seldom  been  absent 
from  Hamilton's  face  in  life  withdrew  its  very  impress  with 
his  spirit.  His  features  had  something  more  than  the  noble 
repose,  the  baffling  peace,  of  death  ;  they  looked  as  if  they 
had  been  cast  long  ago  with  the  heads  of  the  Caesars. 
Gouverneur  Morris,  staring  at  him  through  blistered  eye 
balls  as  he  lay  in  his  coffin,  recalled  the  history  of  the 
House  of  Hamilton,  of  its  direct  and  unbroken  descent 
—  through  the  fortunate,  and  famed,  and  crowned  of  the 
centuries  —  from  the  Great  Constantine,  from  "The  Mace 
donian,"  founder  of  a  dynasty  of  Roman  Emperors,  and 
from  the  first  of  the  Russian  monarchs.  Throughout  that 
history  great  spirits  had  appeared  from  time  to  time, 
hewed  the  foundations  of  an  epoch,  and  disappeared. 
What  long- withdrawn  creators  had  met  in  this  exception 
ally  begotten  brain  ?  Did  those  great  makers  of  empire, 
whose  very  granite  tombs  were  dust,  return  to  earth  when 
their  immortal  energies  were  invoked  to  create  a  soul  for 
a  nation  in  embryo  ?  Morris  reviewed  the  dead  man's 
almost  unhuman  gift  for  inspiring  confidence,  exerted  from 


532  THE  CONQUEROR 

the  moment  he  first  showed  his  boyish  face  to  the  mul 
titude  ;  for  triumphing  to  his  many  goals  as  if  jagged 
ramparts  had  been  grass  under  his  feet.  He  had  been  the 
brain  of  the  American  army  in  his  boyhood ;  he  had  con 
ceived  an  empire  in  his  young  twenties;  he  had  poured  his 
genius  into  a  sickly  infant,  and  set  it,  a  young  giant,  on  its 
legs,  when  he  was  long  under  twoscore.  Almost  all  things 
had  come  to  him  by  intuition,  for  he  had  lived  in  advance 
of  much  knowledge. 

He  communicated  these  thoughts  to  Troup,  who  left  the 
room  with  him,  his  head  bent,  his  arms  hanging  listlessly. 
"  He  might  have  come  in  some  less  human  form,"  added 
Morris,  bitterly.  "  This  is  the  worst  time  of  my  life.  I 
am  not  ashamed  to  say  I've  cried  my  eyes  out." 

"  I  have  cried  my  heart  out,"  said  Troup. 

The  funeral  took  place  from  the  house  of  John  Church, 
in  Robinson  Street,  near  the  upper  Park.  Express  messen 
gers  had  dashed  out  from  New  York  the  moment  Hamilton 
breathed  his  last,  and  every  city  tolled  its  bells  as  it  re 
ceived  the  news.  People  flocked  into  the  streets,  weeping 
and  indignant  to  the  point  of  fury.  Washington's  death 
had  been  followed  by  sadness  and  grief,  but  was  unac 
companied  by  anger,  and  a  loud  desire  for  vengeance. 
Moreover,  Hamilton  was  still  a  young  man.  Few  knew  of 
his  feeble  health  ;  and  that  dauntless  resourceful  figure 
dwelt  in  the  high  light  of  the  public  imagination,  ever  ready 
to  deliver  the  young  country  in  its  many  times  of  peril. 
His  death  was  lamented  as  a  national  calamity. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  New  York  was  black.  Every 
place  of  business  was  closed.  The  world  was  in  the  win 
dows,  on  the  housetops,  on  the  pavements  of  the  streets 
through  which  the  cortege  was  to  pass  :  Robinson,  Beek- 
man,  Peal,  and  Broadway  to  Trinity  Church.  Those  who 
were  to  walk  in  the  funeral  procession  waited,  the  Sixth 
Regiment,  with  the  colours  and  music  of  the  several  corps, 
paraded,  in  Robinson  Street,  until  the  standard  of  the  Cincin 
nati,  shrouded  in  crepe,  was  waved  before  the  open  door  of 
Mr.  Church's  house.  The  regiment  immediately  halted  and 
rested  on  its  reversed  arms,  until  the  bier  had  been  carried 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE   GIANTS  533 

from  the  house  to  the  centre  of  the  street,  when  the  pro 
cession  immediately  formed.     This  was  the  order  of  it: — 

The  Military  Corps 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati 

Clergy  of  all  Denominations 

The  Body  of  Hamilton 

The  General's  Horse 

The  Family 

Physicians 

The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  (in  deep  mourning) 

Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris  in  his  carriage 

Gentlemen   of   the    Bar  and   students   at   law   (in   deep 

mourning) 

Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  the  City 

Members  of  Congress  and  Civil  Officers  of  the  United  States 
The  Minister,  Consuls,  and  Residents  of  Foreign  Powers 
The  Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States 
Military  and  Naval  Officers  of  the  Foreign  Powers 
Militia  Officers  of  States 

Presidents,  Directors,  and  Officers  of  the  respective  Banks 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Merchants 
Marine  Society,  Wardens  of  the  Port,  and  Masters  and 

Officers  of  the  Harbour 
The   President,   Professors,    and    students    of   Columbia 

College 

The  different  Societies 
The  Citizens  in  general,  including  the  partisans  of  Burr 

On  the  coffin  were  Hamilton's  hat  and  sword.  His  boots 
and  spurs  were  reversed  across  his  horse.  The  fine  gray 
charger,  caparisoned  in  mourning,  was  led  by  two  black 
servants,  dressed  in  white,  their  turbans  trimmed  with 
black. 

The  military  escorted  him  in  single  file,  with  trailing 
arms,  the  band  playing  "The  Dead  March  in  Saul,"  min 
ute  guns  from  the  Artillery  in  the  Park  answered  by  the 
British  and  French  warships  in  the  harbour.  But  for 
the  solemn  music,  its  still  more  solemn  accompaniment,  the 
tolling  of  muffled  bells,  and  the  heavy  tramp  of  many  feet, 
there  was  no  sound ;  even  women  of  an  hysterical  habit 
either  controlled  themselves  or  were  too  impressed  to  give 
way  to  superficial  emotion.  When  the  procession  after  its 
long  march  reached  Trinity  Church  the  military  formed  in 


534  THE   CONQUEROR 

two  columns,  extending  from  the  gate  to  the  corners  of 
Wall  Street,  and  the  bier  was  deposited  before  the  entrance. 
Morris,  surrounded  by  Hamilton's  boys,  stood  over  it,  and 
delivered  the  most  impassioned  address  which  had  ever 
leapt  from  that  brilliant  but  erratic  mind.  It  was  brief,  both 
because  he  hardly  was  able  to  control  himself,  and  because 
he  feared  to  incite  the  people  to  violence,  but  it  was  pro 
foundly  moving.  "  He  never  lost  sight  of  your  interests  !  " 
he  reiterated  ;  "  I  declare  to  you  before  that  God  in  whose 
presence  we  are  now  so  especially  assembled,  that  in  his 
most  private  and  confidential  conversations,  his  sole  subject 
of  discussion  was  your  freedom  arid  happiness.  Although 
he  was  compelled  to  abandon  public  life,  never  for  a  mo 
ment  did  he  abandon  the  public  service.  He  never  lost 
sight  of  your  interests.  For  himself  he  feared  nothing  ; 
but  he  feared  that  bad  men  might,  by  false  professions, 
acquire  your  confidence  and  abuse  it  to  your  ruin.  He  was 
ambitious  only  of  glory,  but  he  was  deeply  solicitous  for 
you." 

The  troops  formed  an  extensive  hollow  square  in  the 
churchyard,  and  terminated  the  solemnities  with  three 
volleys  over  the  coffin  in  its  grave.  The  immense  throng, 
white,  still  aghast,  and  unreconciled,  dispersed.  The  bells 
tolled  until  sundown.  The  city  and  the  people  wore  mourn 
ing  for  a  month,  the  bar  for  six  weeks.  In  due  time  the 
leading  men  of  the  parish  decided  upon  the  monument  which 
should  mark  to  future  generations  the  cold  and  narrow  home 
of  him  who  had  been  so  warm  in  life,  loving  as  few  men 
had  loved,  exulted  in  the  wide  greatness  of  the  empire  he 
had  created. 

It  bears  this  inscription  :  — 


THE   LAST  BATTLE   OF  THE  GIANTS  535 


TO   THE   MEMORY   OF 

ALEXANDER   HAMILTON 

THE   CORPORATION   OF   TRINITY    HAVE   ERECTED    THIS 

MONUMENT 
IN  TESTIMONY   OF   THEIR   RESPECT 

FOR 

THE   PATRIOT   OF    INCORRUPTIBLE    INTEGRITY 
THE   SOLDIER  OF   APPROVED   VALOUR 
THE     STATESMAN    OF    CONSUMMATE    WISDOM 

WHOSE   TALENTS   AND   VIRTUES   WILL   BE  ADMIRED 

BY 

GRATEFUL    POSTERITY 

LONG  AFTER  THIS   MARBLE   SHALL   HAVE   MOULDERED  TO 
DUST 

HE   DIED   JULY    I2TH    1804,   AGED   47 


NOTES 

PAGE  xi.     "Nevis  "  is  pronounced  Neevis. 

PAGE  3.  Of  the  Gingerland  estate  nothing  remains  to-day  but  a 
negro  hamlet  named  Fawcett.  Its  inhabitants  are,  beyond  a  doubt,  the 
descendants  of  slaves  belonging  to  Hamilton's  grandparents,  for  there 
is  no  trace  of  any  other  family  named  Fawcett  in  the  Common  Records 
of  Nevis. 

PAGE  6.  This  deed  of  separation  is  entered  in  the  Common  Records 
of  Nevis,  1725-1746,  page  429,  and  is  dated  the  fifth  day  of  February, 

1740- 
PAGE  n.  I  have  hesitated  over  the  spelling  of  the  name  Levine. 
John  Church  Hamilton,  in  his  life  of  Hamilton,  spells  it  Lavine,  and  in 
one  of  Hamilton's  letters,  page  7,  Vol.  II,  of  this  same  Life,  it  is  spelt 
in  the  same  manner.  But  four  times  in  the  Records  of  St.  Croix  it  is 
spelt  Levine.  The  half-brother  to  whom  Hamilton  refers  in  his  letter 
had  himself  baptized  in  Christianstadt  in  the  year  1769,  and  the  entry 
reads :  Peter,  son  of  John  Michael  and  Rachael  Levine.  In  the  inter 
ment  entry  of  Rachael  Levine  it  is  spelt  in  this  fashion,  and  in  the 
government  records  of  Levine's  business  transactions.  It  seems  to  me 
probable  that  in  copying  Hamilton's  letter  the  name  was  misspelled, 
and  although  he  no  doubt  mentioned  the  name  freely  to  his  family,  it  is 
possible  that  he  did  not  write  it  upon  any  other  occasion.  I  have, 
therefore,  used  the  method  for  which  there  is  a  considerable  authority. 

PAGE  29.  James  Hamilton  was  the  fourth  son  of  Alexander  Hamil 
ton,  Laird  of  Grange,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (eldest  daughter  of  Sir 
Robert  Pollock),  who  were  married  about  1730.  The  Hamiltons  of 
Grange  belonged  to  the  Cambuskeith  branch  of  the  great  house  of 
Hamilton,  and  the  founder  of  this  branch,  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
was  Walter  de  Hamilton,  a  son  of  Sir  Gilbert  de  Hamilton,  who  was 
the  common  ancestor  of  the  Dukes  of  Hamilton,  the  Dukes  of  Aber- 
corn,  Earls  of  Haddington,  Viscounts  Boyne,  Barons  Belhaven,  several 
extinct  peerages,  and  of  all  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Hamilton  families. 
He  was  fifth  in  descent  from  Robert,  Earl  of  Mellent,  created  by  Henry 
I,  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  married  a  granddaughter  of  King  Henry  I  of 
France  and  his  Queen,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Jeroslaus,  Czar  of  Russia. 
See  "  The  Lineage  of  Alexander  Hamilton,"  in  the  New  York  Genea 
logical  and  Biographical  Review,  for  April,  1889,  or  "The  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Hamilton,  with  Genealogical 

537 


538  THE  CONQUEROR 

Memoirs  of  Several  Branches  of  the  Family,"  by  John  Anderson,  Edin 
burgh,  1825,  a  copy  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  British  Museum.  In 
the  latter  work,  against  the  name  of  James  Hamilton,  is  the  following 
statement :  A  proprietor  in  the  West  Indies,  and  father  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  the  celebrated  statesman  and  patriot  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  who  fell,  greatly  regretted,  in  a  duel  with  a  Mr.  Burr. 

PAGE  35.  There  is  still  so  widespread  misconception  of  the  term 
"  Creole,"  that  it  is  necessary,  even  at  this  late  date,  to  reiterate  that  it 
was  not  invented  as  a  euphemism  for  coloured  blood.  In  the  United 
States  Creoles  are  Southerners  of  French  or  Spanish  extraction ;  in  the 
West  Indies  any  person  born  on  one  of  the  islands  is  a  Creole,  even  if 
he  be  an  undiluted  Dane. 

PAGE  49.  This  deed  of  trust  was  entered  in  Vol.  X,  No.  i,  page  180, 
of  the  Common  Records  of  St.  Christopher,  on  the  fifth  day  of  May, 
1756,  eight  months  before  the  birth  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 

PAGE  60.  This  dialect,  or  rather  this  curious  mispronunciation  of 
words,  and  inability  to  make  use  of  certain  letters  and  more  than  one  or 
two  personal  pronouns,  is  gathered  from  old  books  on  the  islands,  for  the 
coloured  people  of  the  present  generation  in  the  Caribbees,  even  those 
of  the  lower  class,  now  speak,  save  for  their  singsong  inflection,  much 
like  any  one  else.  But  in  those  days  there  was  no  education  for  the 
blacks,  and  they  spoke  the  barbarous  lingo  I  have  transcribed  without 
embellishment. 

PAGE  65.     Dr.  Hamilton  died  in  June,  1764. 

PAGE  68.  A  piece  of  eight,  then  the  principal  coin  in  the  Danish 
West  Indies,  was  worth  sixty-four  cents. 

PAGE  69.  Hugh  Knox  married  and  left  two  children,  Ann  Knox, 
who  married  James  Towers,  and  John  Knox,  who,  I  think,  became  a 
clergyman  on  St.  Thomas. 

PAGE  79.  The  lower  story  of  this  fine  building,  built  by  Mr.  Mitchell, 
is  in  a  state  of  entire  preservation,  and  is  now  one  of  the  largest  stores 
in  Christiansted. 

PAGE  87.  The  private  burying-ground  of  the  Lyttons  was  on  the 
Grange  estate,  owned,  at  the  time  of  Rachael's  death,  by  Chamberlain 
Robert  Tuite. 

PAGE  88.  Two  candlesticks  of  this  fashion  have  been  preserved  in 
Frederiksted,  and  are  said  to  have  been  used  by  Hamilton  while  there. 

PAGE  91.  I  am  convinced  that  Hugh  Knox  baptized  Hamilton,  and 
have  had  the  old  records  of  St.  Croix,  deposited  in  the  archives  of 
Copenhagen,  thoroughly  searched.  But  they  are  in  so  dilapidated  a 
condition  that  one  might  as  profitably  appeal  to  the  recording  angel. 
In  1782  the  French  destroyed  the  church  registers  of  Nevis,  but  it  is 
hardly  likely  that  Rachael  Levine  had  Hamilton  baptized.  The 
islanders  were  indifferent  to  baptism  under  the  most  amiable  conditions, 


NOTES  539 

usually  waiting  until  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  their  brood  was 
complete,  when  they  took  it  to  the  font  en  bloc.  But  Hugh  Knox 
would  have  attached  great  importance  to  this  ceremony. 

PAGE  120.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  Hamilton  and  young 
Stevens  were  either  first  or  second  cousins,  and  that  the  resemblance 
between  them  which  subsequently,  in  the  United  States,  gave  rise  to 
the  gossip  that  they  were  brothers,  was  due  to  this  fact.  I  was  not  able 
to  discover  that  Mrs.  Stevens  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Faw- 
cett,  but  she  or  her  husband  might  well  have  been  closely  related  to 
Hamilton's  grandparents,  for  the  few  prominent  families  of  Nevis  and 
St.  Christopher  intermarried  again  and  again.  The  Fawcetts  were 
married  at  least  twenty-two  years  before  Rachael  was  born,  and  doubt 
less  had  one  of  the  large  families  of  that  time. 

PAGE  131.     "jThe  Fields"  was  the  old  name  for  the  City  Hall  Park. 

PAGE  133.  I  have  inferred  that  the  speech  Hamilton  made  on  this 
occasion  was  a  spontaneous  outburst  of  the  same  thought  which  he 
elaborated  a  few  weeks  later  in  his  history- making  pamphlets.  Wher 
ever  it  has  been  possible,  I  have  used  his  own  words,  for  he  must  have 
talked  much  as  he  wrote. 

PAGE  136.  "  Indeed  he  was  the  first  to  perceive  and  develop  the  idea 
of  a  real  union  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  "  —  "  History  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States "  by  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  who 
also  comments  at  length  upon  his  having  been  the  chief  force  in  bring 
ing  the  discontent  of  the  colonists  to  a  head  and  precipitating  the 
Revolution. 

PAGE  145.  There  is  space  only  for  Hamilton's  share  in  these  battles. 
I  am  obliged  to  assume  that  the  reader  knows  his  Revolutionary  history. 

PAGE  165.  Nothing  can  be  told  here  of  Laurens's  private  history  be 
yond  the  statements  that  his  too  sensitive  mind  held  him  responsible 
for  the  accidental  death  of  a  younger  brother,  and  that  he  had  married 
a  woman  in  England,  whom  he  had  left  at  the  altar,  to  join,  with  all 
possible  haste,  the  fighting  forces  in  America,  and  whom  he  never  saw 
again.  If  this  meets  the  eye  of  his  family  and  they  care  to  trust  me 
with  the  necessary  papers,  I  shall  be  glad  to  write  a  life  of  Laurens. 

PAGE  196.  This  verse  was  found  in  a  little  bag  on  Mrs.  Hamilton's 
neck  when  she  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-seven. 

PAGE  208.  "At  the  age  of  three  and  twenty  he  had  already  formed 
well-defined,  profound,  and  comprehensive  views  on  the  situation  and 
wants  of  these  states.  He  had  clearly  discerned  the  practicability  of 
forming  a  confederated  government  and  adapting  it  to  their  peculiar 
condition,  resources,  and  exigencies.  He  had  wrought  out  for  himself 
a  political  system,  far  in  advance  of  the  conceptions  of  his  contem 
poraries,  and  one  which  in  the  case  of  those  who  most  opposed  him  in 
life,  became,  when  he  was  laid  in  a  premature  grave,  the  basis  on 
which  this  government  was  consolidated  ;  on  which  to  the  present  day 


540  THE   CONQUEROR 

it  has  been  administered  ;  and  on  which,  alone,  it  can  safely  rest  in  that 
future  which  seems  to  stretch  out  its  unending  glories  before  us." 

—  GEORGE  TICKNOR  CURTIS. 

PAGE  209.  This  letter  from  Hamilton  to  Elizabeth  Schuyler,  from 
which  this  extract  is  taken,  was  first  published  in  Martha  Lamb's 
"  History  of  New  York,"  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.,  New  York. 

PAGE  226.  Burr  was  aide-de-camp  to  Washington  for  six  weeks, 
beginning  the  last  week  in  May,  1776.  He  hated  the  work  and  left 
abruptly,  incurring  Washington's  contempt  and  dislike.  The  charge  of 
his  friends  that  Hamilton  poisoned  the  Chief's  mind  against  him  is 
wholly  unfounded.  Washington  made  up  his  own  mind  about  men, 
and  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  two  young  men  met  except  in  the 
most  casual  manner  before  this  spring  of  1782.  Of  course  it  is  possible 
that  a  diligent  reading  of  obscure  correspondence  might  bring  to  light 
an  earlier  acquaintance,  but  the  matter  is  not  worth  the  waste  of  time. 
Matthew  Davis,  the  only  responsible  biographer  of  Burr,  gives  two  years 
as  the  time  consumed  by  Burr  for  his  legal  studies.  Parton  was  wholly 
indifferent  to  facts  and  has  no  serious  position  as  a  biographer  ;  but 
possessing  a  picturesque  and  entertaining  style,  he  has  been  widely 
read,  and  his  estimate  of  Burr  accepted  by  the  ignorant. 

PAGE  233.     Madison  was  born  in  1751,  Morris  in  1752. 

PAGE  257.  "  A  long  chapter  might  be  written  about  Hamilton's 
other  labours  in  the  State  legislature  ;  ...  he  laboured  hard  to  prevent 
legislation  in  contravention  of  the  treaty  of  peace ;  he  corrected  gross 
theoretical  blunders  in  a  proposed  system  of  regulating  elections,  and 
strove  hard  though  not  altogether  successfully  to  eliminate  religious 
restrictions  ;  he  succeeded  in  preventing  the  disfranchisement  of  a  great 
number  of  persons  for  having  been  interested,  often  unwillingly,  in 
privateering  ventures  ;  he  stayed  some  absurd  laws  proposed  concerning 
the  proposed  qualifications  of  candidates  for  office  ;  in  the  matter  of  tax 
ation  he  substituted  for  the  old  method  of  an  arbitrary  official  assess 
ment,  with  all  its  gross  risks  of  error  and  partiality,  the  principle  of 
allowing  the  individual  to  return  under  oath  his  taxable  property ;  he 
laboured  hard  to  promote  public  education  by  statutory  regulations ; 
his  'first  great  object  was  to  place  a  book  in  the  hand  of  every  American 
child,'  and  he  evolved  a  system  which  served  as  the  model  of  that 
promulgated  in  France  by  the  imperial  decree  of  1808  ;  he  had  much  to 
do  with  the  legislation  concerning  the  relations  of  debtor  and  creditor, 
then  threatening  to  dissever  the  whole  frame  of  society ;  he  was 
obliged  to  give  no  little  attention  to  the  department  of  criminal  law ; 
finally  he  had  to  play  a  chief  part  in  settling  the  long  and  perilous 
struggle  concerning  the  '  New  Hampshire  Grants,'  the  region  now  con 
stituting  the  State  of  Vermont :  his  efforts  in  this  matter  chiefly  averted 
war  and  brought  the  first  new  state  into  the  Union." 

—MORSE'S  "Life  of  Hamilton,"  Vol.  I. 


NOTES  541 

PAGE  265.  The  classic  narrative  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  is 
by  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  and  there  have  been  few  more  fascinating 
chronicles  of  any  subject.  Of  the  condensed  narratives  the  most 
coherent  and  vivid  is  in  Roosevelt's  "  Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris." 

PAGE  268.  Hamilton  also  invited  Gouverneur  Morris  to  collaborate, 
but  that  erratic  gentleman  was  otherwise  engaged. 

PAGE  269.  I  take  this  apportionment  from  a  copy  of  "  The  Feder 
alist  "  presented  by  Hamilton  to  his  nephew  Philip  Church,  and  kindly 
lent  to  me  by  Mr.  Richard  Church.  In  this  copy  one  of  Hamilton's 
sons,  at  his  father's  dictation,  wrote  the  initial  of  the  writer  or  writers 
after  each  essay.  To  Jay  are  allotted  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  54.  To  Madison, 
10,  14,  37,  38,  39,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46,  47,  48.  To  Hamilton  and 
Madison  jointly  :  /j,  19,  20.  The  rest  to  Hamilton. 

PAGE  271.  "'The  Federalist,'  written  principally  by  Hamilton, 
exhibits  an  extent  and  precision  of  information,  a  profundity  of  research, 
and  an  accurateness  of  understanding,  which  would  have  done  honour  to 
the  most  illustrious  statesmen  of  ancient  or  modern  times." —  Edinburgh 
Review,  No.  24. 

"  It  is  a  work  altogether,  which,  for  comprehensiveness  of  design, 
strength,  clearness,  and  simplicity,  has  no  parallel.  We  do  not  even 
except  or  overlook  Montesquieu  and  Aristotle  among  the  writings  of 
men."  —  Blackuiood^s  Magazine,  January,  1825. 

"  In  the  application  of  elementary  principles  of  government  to  practical 
administration  'The  Federalist'  is  the  greatest  work  known  to  me."  — 
Guizot. 

PAGE  300.  This  coup  of  Hamilton's  was  evidently  not  placed  on 
record,  —  for  manifest  reasons,  —  for  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  Elliot's 
"  Debates,"  and  we  should  have  lost  it  but  for  a  letter  from  Clinton  to 
John  Lamb.  See  Foster,  "On  the  Constitution,"  page  4,  Vol.  I. 

PAGE  304.  On  page  842,  "  History  of  the  Republic,"  by  J.  C.  Ham 
ilton,  is  the  only  letter  from  Hamilton  to  his  brother  James  which  has 
been  preserved.  It  is  well  known  in  the  family,  however,  that  he  cor 
responded  with  both  his  father  and  brother  after  his  arrival  in  America. 
A  letter  from  his  father  promising  to  come  to  the  United  States  as  soon 
as  practicable  will  be  found  on  page  567,  Vol.  V,  Hamilton's  Works  (J. 
C.  Hamilton  edition). 

PAGE  304.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  upon  what  authority  certain 
of  Hamilton's  biographers  base  their  assertion  that,  shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  this  country,  he  cut  his  West  Indian  relatives,  ignored  their 
many  claims  upon  his  affection  and  gratitude,  and  deliberately  excluded 
them  from  his  memory.  There  is  no  such  assertion  in  his  son's  biog 
raphy,  and  the  lives  of  Hamilton  that  have  followed  have  been  little 
more  than  a  condensation  of  that  voluminous  work.  This  uncharitable 
assumption  —  which  must  precede  such  a  statement  —  cannot  be  the 
result  of  an  exhaustive  reading  of  his  correspondence,  for  there  they 
would  find  letters  from  Hugh  Knox  and  Governor  Walsterstorff  and 


542  THE   CONQUEROR 

Edward  Stevens,  extending  over  a  period  of  many  years  ;  and  reproaches 
in  none  of  them.  Nor  can  it  be  the  result  of  investigation  among  his 
descendants,  for  it  is  well  known  in  the  Hamilton  family,  that  he  not 
only  corresponded  regularly  with  his  relatives,  including  his  father,  for 
a  long  while,  but  that  he  supported  Mrs.  Mitchell  after  her  husband's 
failure  and  death.  And  even  if  this  indisputable  information  were  not 
accessible,  it  is  incredible  to  me  that  any  one  capable  of  understanding 
Hamilton  even  a  little  should  believe  that  so  contemptible  a  quality  as 
ingratitude  had  any  place  in  his  nature.  The  most  impetuous,  gener 
ous,  honest,  and  tender  of  men,  he  was  the  last  person  to  turn  his  back 
upon  those  who  had  befriended  and  supported  him  in  his  precarious 
youth.  Had  he  been  capable  of  such  meanness,  he  would  not  have 
died  lamented  by  the  best  men  in  the  country,  many  of  whom  had  loved 
him  devotedly  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Nor  was  there  any  motive 
for  such  a  performance.  One  is  not  at  all  surprised  to  find  that  Mrs. 
Mitchell  was  among  the  last  of  his  earthly  thoughts ;  but  were  there 
not  ample  proof  of  the  falsity  of  these  careless  assertions,  then  indeed 
would  Hamilton  be  an  enigma. 

PAGE  339.  Burr  was  married  to  Madame  Jumel  for  a  short  time 
when  they  were  both  old  enough  to  know  better.  She  very  quickly 
sent  him  about  his  business  and  resumed  the  name  of  her  second  hus 
band.  Burr  had  appropriated  sixteen  thousand  dollars  with  which  she 
had  entrusted  him,  and,  as  she  told  people  still  living,  his  charming 
manners  were  entirely  superficial,  he  was  cross  and  exacting  at  home. 
Nevertheless  she  did  not  hesitate  to  make  use  of  him  upon  occasion. 
During  the  bread  riots  in  Italy  her  carriage  was  hemmed  in  one  day 
and  her  richly  attired  self  threatened  by  the  furious  populace.  When  it 
became  evident  that  her  terrified  coachman  could  make  no  headway  she 
arose  to  her  majestic  height,  and,  sweeping  out  one  hand  with  her 
haughtiest  gesture,  said  in  a  loud  and  commanding  tone,  "Make  way! 
make  way!  for  the  widow  of  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States." 
The  crowd  fell  back  properly  awed.  Madame  Jumel  claimed  to  have 
the  famous  diamond  necklace,  but  for  the  truth  of  this  claim  I  cannot 
vouch.  She  certainly  had  many  personal  relics  of  Napoleon,  confided 
to  the  care  of  Jumel,  when  the  fallen  Emperor  meditated  flight  on  his 
faithful  banker's  frigate. 

PAGE  387.  It  is  impossible  that  Hamilton  could  have  sat  for  all  the 
alleged  portraits  of  himself,  scattered  over  the  United  States,  or  he 
would  have  had  no  time  to  do  any  work.  Moreover,  few  realize  his 
personality  or  the  contemporaneous  description  of  him.  That  in  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  is  the  best.  That  in  the  City  Hall,  New 
York,  is  one  of  the  best,  and  the  copy  of  it  in  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment,  Washington,  is  better.  Several  others  are  charming,  notably, 
the  one  at  Morristown  Headquarters,  New  Jersey,  and  the  one 
painted  for  his  army  friends,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Philip 
Schuyler.  The  one  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  a  Trumbull,  but 
Jooks  like  a  fat  boy  with  thin  legs.  It  is  to  be  hoped  there  will  be  no 


NOTES  543 

further  photographing  of  that  libel.     Had  Hamilton  looked  like  it  he 
would  have  accomplished  nothing. 

PAGE  413.  As  the  visit  of  little  Lafayette  to  the  United  States  was 
of  no  historical  moment  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  bringing  him  over  at 
my  own  pleasure.  Otherwise  I  should  have  been  obliged  merely  to 
mention  his  advent  in  the  course  of  the  rapid  seven  years'  summary 
which  comes  later. 

PAGE  430.  That  Hamilton  conceived  the  ice-water  cure  for  yellow 
fever  is  well  known  to  doctors. 

PAGE  435.  Mr.  Richard  Church  kindly  brought  me  an  old  bundle  of 
letters  from  Mrs.  Church  to  Mrs.  Hamilton.  Except  for  the  faded  ink 
they  might  been  written  yesterday,  so  lively,  natural,  and  modern  were 
they.  It  was  impossible  to  realize  that  the  writer  was  dust  long  since. 
Indeed,  in  all  the  matter,  published  and  unpublished,  that  I  have  read 
for  this  book,  I  find  no  excuse  for  the  inverted  absurdities  and  stilted 
forms  with  which  it  is  thought  necessary  to  create  a  hundred-year-old 
atmosphere. 

PAGE  441 .  This  letter  of  Thomas  Corbin  disposes  of  the  assevera 
tions  of  Jefferson's  biographers  that  the  leader  of  the  Democrats  dressed 
himself  like  a  gentleman  until  he  became  President.  His  untidiness 
was  probably  congenital  to  begin  with,  and  in  any  case  would  have  been 
a  policy  from  the  first,  of  that  deep  and  subtle  mind. 

PAGE  448.  A  clause  had  been  inserted  in  Article  II  of  the  Consti 
tution  which  would  permit  Hamilton,  although  an  alien  born,  to  be  a 
President  of  the  United  States. 

PAGE  45 1.  It  was  Mr.  James  Q.  Howard  in  a  letter  to  the  New 
York  Sun,  May,  1901,  who  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  Hamilton 
was  the  first  of  the  "Imperialists,"  or  "Expansionists." 

PAGE  458.  I  wrote  to  Colonel  Mills,  Commander  of  West  Point,  to 
ask  him  if  any  of  Hamilton's  codes  were  still  in  use.  The  librarian  of 
the  post,  Dr.  Edward  S.  Holden,  replied,  among  other  things,  as  fol 
lows  :  "...  As  circumstances  have  changed,  the  details  of  his  codes 
have  changed,  and  the  principles  which  guided  him  have  been  readapted 
to  new  conditions  as  they  have  arisen.  The  best  praise  that  can  be  given 
him  is,  then,  that  he  thoroughly  understood  the  basic  principles  under 
lying  military  affairs,  and  that  with  superb  genius  he  applied  them  to  the 
exigencies  of  his  time  with  that  philosophical  and  at  the  same  time 
practical  talent  which  was  his  special  endowment." 

PAGE  469.  I  made  a  copy  from  the  original  of  a  letter  from  Alex 
ander  Baring  (afterward  Lord  Ashburton)  to  his  counsel,  D.  J.  Rinnan, 
containing  full  details  of  this  transaction.  One  of  the  significant  points 
about  the  contemptuous  opinions  of  Burr's  dishonesty  which  one  comes 
upon  constantly  in  the  correspondence  of  this  period,  is  that  no  one 
claims  to  have  made  its  discovery,  or  to  think  comment  worth  while. 
It  evidently  became  established  at  an  early  date.  But  brilliancy  and 


544  THE   CONQUEROR 

dexterity  saved  him  at  the  bar,  and  he  won  many  a  case  for  those  who 
despised  him  most. 

PAGE  471.  Tammany  Hall  was  highly  respectable  in  the  beginning 
of  its  career.  I  have  here  used  the  term  in  the  figurative  sense ;  it  is 
in  truth  an  epigram  into  which  all  political  abomination  is  concentrated. 

PAGE  474.  For  correspondence  of  Hamilton  with  his  Scotch  rela 
tives,  and  with  Secretary  of  the  Navy  regarding  Robert  Hamilton,  see 
Vol.  VI,  Hamilton's  Works. 

PAGE  496. 

From  the  Register  of  Burials  in  St.  George's  Cathedral. 
Burials  in  1799,  Con. 

June  3d.     James  Hamilton  —  Father  of  General  Hamilton  in  America 
killed  by  Col.  Baird. 

NOTE  :  The  Rev.  I.  Guilding  was  the  Rector  of  the  Parish  at  this 
time,  and  the  entry  was  made  by  him  in  the  above  form. 

E.  A.  TURPIN. 

I  certify  that  the  above  entry  is  a  true  and  correct  copy  from  the 
Register  of  Burials  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  George,  in  the  town 
of  Kingston,  in  the  island  of  St.  Vincent,  West  Indies, 

by  me, 

E.  A.  TURPIN, 

Rector  of  St.  George  and  St.  Andrew, 

and  Archdeacon  of  St.  Vincent, 

this  1 3th  day  of  May,  1901. 

PAGE  501.     Hamilton  never  would  own  a  slave. 

PAGE  509.  The  story  of  Burr's  awakening  Hamilton  in  the  early 
morning  to  borrow  of  him,  is  related  in  "  The  History  of  the  Republic." 
Mrs.  Hamilton  herself  is  the  authority  for  the  other  loan.  The  story 
was  told  her  by  Washington  Morton,  her  brother-in-law,  who  arranged 
it,  Burr,  for  once,  being  ashamed  to  go  openly  to  Hamilton.  He  repaid 
this  sum  after  Hamilton's  death. 

PAGE  516.  The  oft-told  tale  of  Hamilton  and  Burr  meeting  at  the 
house  of  Madame  Jumel  on  the  night  before  the  challenge,  I  have,  after 
careful  investigation,  utterly  repudiated.  In  the  first  place,  the  lady  had 
been  married  but  two  months,  and  to  a  Frenchman  at  that.  He  was  a 
rich  man  and  had  undoubtedly  married  her  for  love,  moreover  was  devoted 
to  her  as  long  as  he  lived.  It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  he  was  permitting 
Hamilton  to  call  one  night  and  Burr  the  next  — so  the  story  runs.  In 
the  second  place,  Hamilton,  whatever  may  have  been  his  adventures  in 
the  past,  was  in  no  condition  for  gallivanting  at  this  period,  as  I  think  I 


NOTES  545 

have  demonstrated.  Dr.  Hosack,  in  the  paper  he  prepared  for  the  Post 
on  the  day  following  Hamilton's  death,  asserted  that  owing  to  the 
patient's  feeble  condition  he  had  been  unable  to  give  the  usual  medicines. 
At  the  same  time  Hamilton  had  been  working  from  fourteen  to  fifteen 
hours  a  day.  The  conclusions  are  obvious.  Moreover,  General  Hamil 
ton,  now  eighty-seven,  and  in  perfect  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  has 
told  me  that  he  frequently  accompanied  his  grandmother,  Hamilton's 
widow,  to  call  on  Madame  Jumel.  In  the  small  town  of  New  York  no 
such  sensational  meeting  could  have  been  kept  a  secret  for  long. 
Madame  Jumel  lived  in  the  city  at  the  time,  by  the  way,  her  husband 
not  buying  the  house  on  the  Heights  until  1815. 

But  that  she  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  matter  I  should  not  have  had 
the  slightest  doubt,  even  were  it  not  an  accepted  fact  by  both  Hamil 
ton's  present  family  and  hers,  and  I  arrived  at  my  conclusions,  as  the 
story  of  all  concerned,  and  of  the  history  of  the  times,  developed. 

PAGE  522.  Burr  kept  these  letters  until  he  died,  at  the  age  of  80,  and 
left  them  to  Matthew  Davis,  who  destroyed  those  whose  writers  were 
dead,  and  returned  the  others  to  certain  ancient  and  highly  respected 
dames. 

PAGE  527.     These  pistols  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Richard 

Church. 

PAGE  531.  Hamilton's  strong  likeness  to  the  Caesars  is  best  seen  in 
the  marbles  of  him,  notably  the  one  executed  by  Ceracchi.  The  painted 
likenesses  of  him  either  do  not  resemble  him  at  all  or  are  so  full  of  his 
vivacity,  mischievous  humour,  and  indomitable  youth  that  they  are  wholly 
himself. 

From  "  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,"  Vol.  V,  page  450,  Edinburgh  : 
"  The  most  remarkable  person  connected  with  the  parish  (Stevenston  in 
Ayrshire)  was  the  late  General  Alexander  Hamilton  of  the  family  of 
Grange,  though  America  was  the  field  in  which  he  distinguished  him 
self.  He  was  excelled  by  none  as  a  general,  orator,  financier,  lawyer. 
In  the  words  of  one  who  knew  him,  he  was  '  the  mentor  of  Washing 
ton,  the  framer  of  the  present  constitution  of  America,  a  man  of  strict 
honour  and  integrity  ;  equally  esteemed  in  public  and  in  private  life.'  " 

The  above  came  to  my  hand  after  the  book  went  to  press,  and  I  pub 
lish  it  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  Scotch  Hamiltons  eagerly  claimed 
the  kinship  of  Hamilton,  quite  indifferent  to  the  irregularity  of  his 
birth. 

Hamilton's  children  were  born  and  named  as  follows :  Philip,  Janu 
ary  22,  1782  ;  Angelica,  September  25,  1784;  Alexander,  May  16,  1786; 
James  Alexander,  April  14,  1788;  John  Church,  August  22,  1792; 
Williani  Stephen,  August  4,  1797;  Eliza,  November  20,  1799;  Philip, 
June  7,  1802. 


2N 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

IT  is  a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the 
following  people  who  have  helped  me  with  family  papers, 
books  and  political  pamphlets  long  out  of  print,  their 
knowledge  of  the  unwritten  history  of  the  United  States, 
unpublished  anecdotes  of  Hamilton,  and  general  sugges 
tions  :  Mr.  James  Q.  Howard  of  the  Library  of  Congress ; 
Dr.  Allan  McLane  Hamilton ;  General  A.  Hamilton ; 
Colonel  J.  C.  L.  Hamilton;  Mr.  Richard  Church;  Mr. 
Roger  Foster;  Mr.  H.  W.  Parker  of  the  Mechanics'  Insti 
tute  Free  Library  of  New  York ;  Dr.  Richard  B.  Coutant, 
and  Mr.  Philip  Schuyler;  and  to  the  following  residents 
of  the  British  and  Danish  West  Indies : 

On  St.  Christopher 
Mrs.  Spencer  Wigley 
Dr.  Joseph  Haven,  U.S.  Consul 
The  Rev.  William  Evered 
The  Rev.  George  Yoe 
Mr.  E.  P.  Latouche,  Registrar  and  Provost  Marshal 

On  Nevis 

The  Hon.  C.  C.  Greaves 
The  Rev.  W.  Cowley 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Shephard 
Mr.  G.  V.  Mercier 

On  St.  Croix 
The  Rev.  W.  C.  Watson 

Also  —  The  West  Indian  works  of  Dr.  Taylor,  and 
Lightbourne's  Annuals. 

546 


NEW     FICTION 

The  Benefactress 

By  the  Author  of 
"Elizabeth  and  ber  German  Garden,"  "  The  Solitary  Summer,"  etc. 

Cloth.      i2mo.     $1.50 

A  new  novel  by  this  charming  writer,  who  so  cleverly  kept  the  secret  of 
her  personality,  is  sure  to  be  widely  enjoyed  by  those  who  read  the  entertain 
ing  chronicles  already  issued  of  her  garden  by  the  Baltic,  of  the  three  quaint 
April,  May,  and  June  Babies,  of  the  Man  of  Wrath,  and  of  Elizabeth's  own 
original  ideas. 

"The  Benefactress  "  is  a  young  English  woman  who  has  a  fortune  left  her 
by  a  German  relative.  She  takes  up  her  property  in  Germany  and  lives  there. 
The  story  of  her  life  in  the  German  village  is  told  with  unfailing  humor,  as 
might  have  been  expected  of  the  woman  who  found  such  a  fund  of  delicious 
entertainment  in  what  would  have  been  to  most  an  exile  of  the  extremes! 
dulness. 


The  Real  World 

By  ROBERT    HERRICK 

Author  of  "  The  Gospel  of  Freedom,"  "  The  Web  of  Life;'  etc. 

Cloth.      i2mo.      $1.50 

The  chief  woman  in  this  new  novel  by  Mr.  Herrick  is  the  daughter  of  an 
Ohio  manufacturer,  and  the  plot  is  developed  through  the  story  of  a  young 
man's  life.  The  underlying  idea  is  eternally  old :  that  the  world  does  not 
exist  until  created  afresh  for  each  person.  The  way  the  hero  makes  his  own 
world  forms  the  pith  of  the  story,  the  scene  of  which  moves  back  and  forth 
between  the  East  and  the  West. 


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NEW  CANTERBURY  TALES 

By  MAURICE   HEWLETT 

Author  of  " Richard  Yea-and-Nay"  " The  Forest  Lovers" 
''Little  Novels  of  Italy"  etc. 

Cloth.     J2mo.     $f.50 

"  Each  strikes  a  different  note,  but  each  is  faithful  to  the  taste  of  his 
time,  which  means  a  stout  belief  in  the  Saints,  and  perhaps  as  genuine  a 
fear  of  '  Old  Legion,'  a  delight  in  chivalrous  deeds,  in  mundane  pomp  and 
might.  And  behind  them  is  the  author's  genius  for  the  creation  of  char 
acter  and  drama,  so  that  these  Old  World  fancies,  full  of  the  glamour  of 
ancient  legend,  in  some  cases  all  compact  of  a  curious,  mediaeval  quaint- 
ness,  seem  somehow  extraordinarily  human  and  true." 

—  New  York  Tribune. 

"  With  each  successive  volume  there  is  added  proof,  if  such  proof  were 
needed,  that  for  real  fineness  of  touch  and  true  artistic  instinct  Mr.  Hew 
lett  stands  quite  by  himself  in  his  country  and  generation." 

—  The  Commercial  Advertiser,  New  York. 


THE  NEW  AMERICANS 

By  ALFRED  HODDER 

Cloth.     12mo.     $1.50 

It  has  been  said  in  derogation  of  the  realism  of  Balzac  that  all  his 
dramatis  personse  are  people  of  genius,  are  at  least  far  above  the  average 
in  energy  and  intelligence.  The  same  criticism  may  be  brought  against 
the  dramatis  personse  of  this  novel.  The  justification  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  book  deals  with  the  new  generation  in  the  new  America;  with  their 
energy,  their  confidence,  their  audacity,  their  gayety  and  intelligence,  their 
sheer  determination  "to  have  their  fling,"  their  sense  that  they  are  the 
children  of  a  nation  rising  in  power.  The  plot  turns  on  the  conflict 
between  the  purposes  and  ideals  of  the  old  generation  and  of  the  new, 
on  the  conflict  between  the  purposes  and  ideals  of  the  women  of  the  new 
generation  and  of  the  men,  on  the  hard  unsentimentality  which  for  the 
present  distinguishes  both  the  men  and  women  of  the  new.  The  hero  and 
the  heroine  are  a  Benedick  and  a  Beatrice,  in  that  they  both  "made  light 
of  love";  a  Benedick  and  Beatrice  who  have  made  light  of  it  too  long 
and  have  been  taken  in  its  snare  too  late  for  the  course  of  true  love  to 
run  smooth. 

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Marietta 

A  Maid  of  Venice 

By  F.  MARION   CRAWFORD 

Author  qf"  In  the  Palace  of  tbe  King,"  uyia  Cruets," 
"  Saracinesca"  etc. 

Cloth.      i2rno.     $1.50 

The  story  deals  with  a  romantic  episode  that  is  historically  true,  being 
taken  from  one  of  the  old  Venetian  chronicles  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  during  the  development  of  the  greatest  splendor  of  the 
Queen  of  the  Adriatic. 

The  action  and  interest  centre  in  the  household  of  a  master  glass-blower, 
a  member  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  Venetian  trade  corporations  which 
had  many  rights  and  curious  privileges,  and  are  picturesquely  brought  out. 

But  aside  from  its  power  as  a  story  and  its  vivid  picture  of  domestic  life 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  book  shares  the  peculiar  charm  of  "  Marzio's  Cruci 
fix,"  "  A  Roman  Singer,"  and  other  of  Mr.  Crawford's  descriptions  of  artists 
and  their  surroundings,  which  have  always  been  singularly  fortunate,  possibly 
because  of  special  sympathies  dating  from  his  boyhood  in  Rome,  where  his 
father  was  the  well-known  sculptor,  Thomas  Crawford. 


A  Friend  with  the  Countersign 

By   B.   K.    BENSON 

Autbor  of  "Who  Goes  Tbere?"  etc. 

Cloth.      i2mo.      $1.50 

ITiose  who  have  read  "  the  best  spy  story  of  the  Civil  War "  —  described 
by  the  Boston  Herald  as :  "  Quite  the  most  extraordinary  and  remarkable  of 
recent  stories  of  personal  adventure  in  warfare  ...  a  story  of  such  vividness 
and  power  that  once  you  have  gotten  immersed  in  it,  you  want  to  shut  out 
the  rest  of  the  world  completely  until  you  have  finished  it,"  will  not  be  sur 
prised  to  find  in  the  new  novel  a  story  of  desperate  personal  adventure, 
political  plot  and  counterplot,  villany,  and  of  a  devoted  woman's  love,  all 
interwoven  with  the  Virginia  Campaigns  of  Grant  and  Lee,  and  detailed  with 
rare  historical  accuracy. 

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NEW    FICTION 

Calumet  "  K  " 

By  MERWIN-WEBSTER 
Authors  of  *  The  Sbort  Line  War?  "  Tbe  Banker  and  tbe  Bear,"  etc, 

Illustrated.    Cloth.    121110.    $1.50 

Calumet  "  K  "  is  a  two-million-bushel  grain  elevator,  and  this  story  tella 
how  Charlie  Bannon  built  it  "  against  time."  The  elevator  must  be  done  by 
December  31.  There  are  persons  that  are  interested  in  delaying  the  work, 
and  it  is  these,  as  well  as  the  "  walking  delegates,"  that  Bannon  has  to  fight, 
The  story  of  how  they  tried  to  "  tie  up  "  the  lumber,  two  hundred  miles  away, 
and  of  how  he  outwitted  them  and  "  just  carried  it  off,"  shows  the  kinds  of 
thing  that  Bannon  can  do  best.  In  spite  of  his  temptation  to  brag  —  he  was 
for  two  years  a  "  chief  wrecker  "  on  the  Grand  Trunk,  and  has  many  stories 
to  tell  —  Bannon  is  one  of  the  men  without  whom  American  commerce  could 
not  get  on.  The  heroine  of  this  story  is  Bannon's  typewriter. 

Mr.  Henry  Kitchell  Webster  and  Mr.  Samuel  Merwin  have  discovered  in 
the  exciting  movements  of  trade  and  finance  a  field  of  fiction  hitherto  over 
looked  by  American  writers,  but  containing  a  great  wealth  of  romance. 


God  Wills  It 

A  Tale  of  the  First  Crusade 

By  WILLIAM    STEARNS   DAVIS 

/tutbor  of  "  A  Friend  of  Ccesar  " 

Cloth.     i2mo.     $1.50 

The  story  revolves  around  the  adventures  of  Richard  Longsword,  a  re 
doubtable  young  Norman  cavalier,  settled  in  Sicily;  how  he  won  the  hand 
of  the  Byzantine  Princess,  Mary  Kurkuas;  how  in  expiation  of  a  crime  com 
mitted  under  extreme  provocation,  he  took  the  vows  of  the  Crusader;  how 
in  Syria  his  rival  in  love,  the  Egyptian  Emir,  Iftikhar-Eddauleh  stole  from  him 
his  bride;  and  how  he  regained  her  under  romantic  circumstances  at  the 
storming  of  Jerusalem  by  the  French. 


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University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

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